A friend contacted me earlier in the year and wondered if Noah might want to be involved in a project organized by Eric Whitacre. Who? I had never heard of him. I later discovered he is an award-winning American composer and conductor. (I have been accused at times of living under a rock.)
He submitted the video electronically, as did other young people from around the world. At that moment he joined Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Youth Choir, in partnership with UNICEF and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
We received word that Noah’s video had been received. Cool. Then we kind of forgot about it.
I had never heard of the Commonwealth Games. I’ll plead ignorance again and admit I don’t follow sports closely, especially competition abroad. The Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3. (That’s almost two weeks!) Approximately 4,950 athletes were in attendance from 71 different nations. Athletes competed in 18 different sports. It was the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland.
It was amazing to see Noah’s image projected briefly on a big screen during the opening ceremonies along with 2,292 other young people from 80 countries. We weren’t in Scotland obviously, but we’ve seen video. It makes my heart happy.
Noah said it was kind of cool but weird.
Sometimes when we look at people from different cultures or countries, we see our differences. In this case, people from all over the world came together (albeit virtually) in spite of their differences and were united by music. Everyone was alone and connected. I imagined mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers from all corners of the globe gathered around a computer to see the singer in their family. In some instances, one child represented an entire country.
Please visit the Virtual Choir site (www.virtualyouthchoir.com) to see the performance. You can do so by clicking here. Look for the “find yourself by typing your name” box. Type “Noah” and then choose the Noah who is 13 from the United States. Play the video, and he pops up around 1:42 in the lower left quadrant. He’s wearing a white t-shirt. I am in awe each time. The laddie is singing in Scotland!
Read more about Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choirs and how it all began. Warning: He's easy on the eyes.
Actual footage from the opening ceremonies: