feel good?

This was a perfect day for me to see this video. It lifted me up pretty darn high! I bet it will do the same for you.

Monique, an accomplished musician and fabulous teacher from the Netherlands, was a member of Change the Truth Team 5 and has returned to St. Mary Kevin several times since then. (She has even established her own foundation that provides music education to our kids in Uganda and kids at an orphanage in India.) Monique has taken what we started with the marching band and raised it up to a whole new level. Over the years, she has replaced some of the original instruments we purchased (destroyed by wear and tear) and added many instruments to the cache, the most recent of which was a drum kit.

A friend of Monique's, Simon, went to SMK last month to teach jazz to the young musicians, something Monique had begun during an earlier trip. The musicians have taken it and run with it. You can certainly understand that playing marching band tunes gets old after a while, and if you are getting into your mid to late teenage years, "I Feel Good" is a lot more appealing than "When The Saints Go Marching In."

So, take a look at this awesome video (shot by Melissa) that features many of our sponsored students and friends. At the mic are Rachael and Rose (the latter usually plays the sax… she's multi talented). On drums is Melissa's son, Antwain. Nicky plays guitar. Rockin' out on trombone is Tonny. Brian is playing the trumpet. The swingin' sax players are Claire, Emison and Oscar.

Kudos to Monique and Simon! And to our young musicians and singers, I say: BRAVO!!