Amanda Sings

This weekend, I sang with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra. It is the third year that I have gone up to Mansfield with one of the groups I sing with, Capriccio. This year, we sang "Candide" by Leonard Bernstein. One of the songs in this operetta is one of my all-time favorites: Make Our Garden Grow. I just love it and loved the chance to get to sing with with a real orchestra (and not just my ipod!)

The Mansfield Symphony Orchestra is conducted by a great guy named Robert Franz, and watching him conduct is like a full semester of conducting courses! Since it is my favorite art form (conducting) I just eat it up every time.

When I was deciding what I should be when I grew up (college deadlines looming and all that) my high school band went on a trip to San Diego for contests. I remember watching the director (Greg Taylor - awesome!) while he conducted the top band playing an arrangement of Make Our Garden Grow, and I just loved that image of him: standing on stage and embodying the music. So, right then, I decided that I wanted to be a band teacher. (Well, you see where that has gotten me:) but conducting is STILL my favorite thing in the world!)