I had the pleasure of attending the sixth-grade Spring Concert at Howitt Middle School last week. As I sat with the other proud parents in the auditorium, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. The children who performed were truly amazing. It was hard to believe that the songs that we heard were performed by 12-year-olds. It really was something to see and hear.

The band, jazz band, orchestra and chorus put on such a wonderful show. As I watched my daughter performing with the chorus, I could not help but think how difficult a job it must be to get such a large group to perform as one. The emcees spoke of the commitment of the students and parents who enabled them to get to this level, but accolades have to go to the music teachers who were able to bring these students together to perform as one. Their dedication and true love for what they do certainly resonated throughout the performance. You could see how proud they were of their performances.

It is a tribute to our school system and our commitment to provide the children with the best education possible. I'm sure my feelings were replicated throughout our community at any one of our elementary schools and the high school this past week as they had their spring concerts also. It's a shame that only the parents of the performers get to witness these performances. The school children get to see the concerts in school but unfortunately the parents of the children who aren't performing don't get to experience the wonderful feeling of watching these special children sing in harmony and hit the perfect note. All the children should be complimented and the music teachers should be thanked for putting music in the air.