Finally. Concerts are over. The senior class gave us $7000 today toward a piano for the new auditorium. That is fantastic, but unfortunately, it is just a rotten place to sing, so even when we get a piano there, we aren't going to like singing there. The Presbyterians are still letting us use their place however and it is a terrific hall so we'll just keep singing the advanced choirs there. Amazing how a good acoustic makes the groups way better. We must work toward having a better acoustic environment to rehearse in.

The senior class that is leaving is smaller than some we have had, yet there are some tremendous losses for me personally. Karl, Bryan S, Anne, Lauren, and Diana are all going to be music majors. Bryan M and Leah are also planning to study music at least as a minor. Jesse is going to GSU undecided, but both she and I think she is going to study voice eventually. She is a tremendous singer.

Karl is my best tenor soloist ever. Bryan my best male soloist ever, a baritone. Karl and Bryan are going on the honor scholarship to LSU. They are my seventh and eighth scholarship winners there in the past 6 years. There will be 5 of them there in the fall. Anne's parents are teachers at our school. They are amused at how she loves me. Often at the end of a long day, they cannot find her and so they come to the chorus room where she'll be bending my ear with something fantastic. We have been comfortable with each other since she was a bouncy 14 year old with braces and so I have adopted her as my other daughter. She had her picture taken with my two children at the last concert and told them that she was adopting them as her brother and sister. Lauren and Diana have enough music to make it through, but are not quite as shining stars. Fortunately the cupboard is not bare with their leaving. Morgan S, Morgan H, Ellen, and Carli are next years stars. Jason McCloskey, Chris Chabot, and Garrett Roberds are ringing basses, and Alex Couch a developing tenor. We'll be okay.

Today was the last day for seniors and we hauled out some old pieces in Singers and sang them. They did all right. The bell rang and the seniors began to cry. Tears were streaming down, and some were sobbing. I said "Come on girls. Life isn't over. You'll keep singing. You'll come back to visit. We'll keep it going for you." But Caroline looked at me and said, "But Dr. Green, we are not in the choir anymore. We aren't McIntosh Singers anymore, we're just visitors." Then we all cried. I told them they would always be McIntosh Singers. Some didn't leave until 10 minutes into the next period. Seniors kept drifting back in to sit since they were doing nothing in Math and Science and they just wanted to be back in the chorus room. At 5:00 Anne was there to tell me the latest. She's the Salutatorian and wanted my help with her speech. We looked at it but just couldn't focus on it today. She asked if she could come back tomorrow and I said "Sure."

Visitors. I meant to tell you about visitors. Our students come back. And even if they didn't hug you when they were here as students, they hug you on their return. They are full of stories of how they miss me, and how they didn't realize how good our program until they got to their college choir and nothing was nearly as good. They leave their visitor badges stuck to the cabinet wall, leaving a record of their return for all to see. About 75 badges are up there from this year. They don't interrupt when they come, they sit and watch the rehearsal.

I seem to have found just the right place for myself in life. It has taken awhile. I am lucky.