What I have chosen to share for this week’s Then Sings My Soul Saturdays is not a song with words, but instead a couple of orchestral pieces in a video of a group of amazingly talented kids from Venezuela.  I was looking around the TED website for interesting videos, maybe even check out the one where Bill Gates released the mosquitos into the crowd, when I came across this one.   This one made my soul sing.  

This is a youth orchestra from Venezuela made up high-school aged kids.  Watching them play and hearing their music not only pulled me out of my moment and into theirs, but it had me reflecting on so much.  I was reminded of how precious their talent is and I hoped that these kids knew what God had gifted them with.  I wondered about each kid’s background as I spotted shiny new instruments, and instruments with dull, old finishes that had clearly seen better days (but could still play well!).  I was proud of them for their musical accomplishments – it takes hours of practice to work on music like this and to get to this skill level, hours that they were not spending in activities that could be detrimental to them, or perhaps not necessarily harmful but definitely not fruitful activities.  I was impressed and inspired by the adults and teachers in their lives who encouraged these kids to practice, learn, and love this music, and by the adults who made this happen and even orchestrated (pun intended) this appearance at such an impressive conference as TED.  

Above all, I listened and enjoyed this music.  I was taken into the moment. For the second piece, I nearly danced off my chair and stood proudly when they did.  It is a longer video than I usually post, but it’s well worth the entire watch.

Enjoy.