Post-THON!

Today's post will be a post-THON report!

Let me first just give a HUGE round of applause to everyone who was involved in THON the past weekend. As I stood up on the bleachers watching the event from above, it almost seemed unreal. As a freshman, it was breathtaking to experience my first THON, and I can't wait for the next couple of THONs to come! :]

Singing at THON was awesome (although it ended in a abrupt halt--more on that later).

I have to admit, at first, it was quite awkward. Here we were, standing in the middle of the hallway with crowds of people bustling around. Volunteers and visitors alike were running around busily, and honestly, I felt like we were in the way. But, we managed to find an empty space by the wall opposite to the registration table. There was a line of people patiently (some impatiently) waiting for their turn to be helped. We then began to sing our first song: Seasons of Love.

The beginning of the song starts out with just the sopranos. The crystal clear, high tones of the sopranos pierced the atmosphere, and heads immediately turned to our direction. While at first, a lot of people looked at us like we were crazy, after the first 30 seconds, many people proceeded to bob their heads or clap along. The first and last songs of a performance are always the most important, because they leave the first and last impression. Their was a specific reason why our president chose Seasons of Love as our first selection. If you read the lyrics, I think you'll understand why...

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?

How about love? [x3] 

Measure in love
Seasons of love [x2]

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?
 

In truths that she learned,
Or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned,
Or the way that she died.

It's time now to sing out,
Tho' the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends
Remember the love!

Oh you got to got to
Remember the love!
You know that love is a gift from up above
Share love, give love spread love
Measure measure your life in love.

These lyrics are powerful lyrics. And they embody the ideals of THON. I've never watched Rent before, so I'm not sure in what context that these lyrics were created, but I do know that "remembering the love" is something that THON strives to do. As we sang, we watched the tired volunteers run around on a mere 3 or 4 hours of sleep. We watched devoted supporters walk in late at night to cheer on our dancers. We watched tired dancers march off to the bathroom with struggling smiles. It was great to be able to stand in front of lines and encourage the passersby to keep smiling and remembering the love. It was even better when we got encouraging smiles or words of support in return! One guy even started to sing along with us! :) 

And now, on to the sad part... After about an hour, we eventually had to stop because one of the THON workers approached us and told us we weren't allowed to sing unless we had received explicit permission from the THON committee to do so. It was odd, because it wasn't the first time RoF has gone THON hallway singing. But we understood his reasoning and stopped our performances. 

THON is now over, but the THON spirit is a year-round effort! I hope the Penn State community doesn't forget to "remember the love."

THON!

Rhythm of Faith is scheduled to walk around and sing at THON this Saturday =)
As PennStaters, we all know what THON is. It's a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. With over 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and many more rooting for the cause in spirit, THON is an epic opportunity for the Penn State community to give a little "umph" into the triumph that our society strives for.
Rhythm of Faith has traditionally walked around the BJC singing in front of bathroom lines, doorways, and hallways, in hopes of encouraging and inspiring the folks at this spectacular event. This year, while preparing, I reflected a lot about what it would mean for us to sing at such an event.
THON stands for so much more than an "activity" that Penn State hosts. It stands for the fight that we as Nittany Lions have committed ourselves to. It stands for the many children who await for a superhero to lift them out of their troubles. Knowing this, it put this Saturday's performance into a different perspective.
As I noted in my "This I Believe" speech, music has the ability to heal, inspire, and enchant both the listener and the creator. This weekend, Rhythm of Faith will be singing among people who need all kinds of healings, inspirations, and enchantments. Whether they may need a little encouragement to keep smiling or a refreshing reminder during a bathroom break to keep on dancing, everyone could use a little cheer.
RoF will be singing songs from "Who Am I" to "Oh Happy Day" to "Seasons of Love". Each song reminds the listener that he/she is loved and that today is a day to celebrate the energy, joy, and passion that life brings us.
I hope that RoF will truly be able to bless those who happen to hear us at THON.
And on a parting note,
FTK<3

"As it is, there are many parts, but one body."

This week's feature video comes from Dartmouth's A Capella group, X.Ado. The song is "Listen to Our Hearts" by Steven Curtis Chapman. Soloists are Kevin Oh and Andrew Kang.
I unfortunately was not able to attend RoF's practices this week, so I'll blog today about today's feature video.
Upon listening to this video, the first thing that most people will note is the soloist's breathtaking voice. His deep, rich tone is likely to sweep any girl off her feet.When I was first introduced to X.Ado through this video, I immediately became obsessed with Kevin and began to watch every single video Youtube had of this fascinating creature who had captured my heart. (He also has a personal youtube channel, monkeybz, in which he displays his mind-blowing guitar/vocal skills. His cover of "La Vie En Rose" is to die for.) However, as I listened to X.Ado's rendition of Listen to Our Hearts, I realized that the real magic in this performance happened behind the soloist.
Sure, Kevin is absolutely fantastic at singing this song. But without the background vocals, his voice would not shine as much as it does. The vocalists in the back blend together with almost flawless precision. Not one voice sticks out as its own. Each section moves as if it were one person, and all four sections come together as majestic one instrument. I think the combination for a perfect A Capella performance consists of a soloist who helps the background vocals to shine and background vocals that enhance the soloist. Unity for the win!
I think the concept of unity is especially interesting in a Christian A Capella group, because the groups moves together and sings for a defined purpose. I post the lyrics below in hopes to enhance your viewing experience. Whether Christian or not, I hope that you'll be able to experience the passion and emotions that are captured in X.Ado's performance. Just take a moment to imagine the passion behind the lyrics of this song. For whether he is confessing his love for God or his love for a cheeseburger, every performer hopes that he can effectively convey to the audience what's in his heart through his music.

Here are the verses for this song:
How do you explain,
How do you describe,
A love that goes from east to west,
And runs and deep as it is wide?
You know all our hopes
Lord, you know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear

So listen to our hearts (oh, Lord, please listen)
Hear our spirits sing (and hear us sing)
A song of praise that flows (a simple song of praise)
From those You have redeemed (from those You have redeemed)
We will use the words we know
To tell You what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough
To tell You of our love

If words could fall like rain
From these lips of mine
And if I had a thousand years
I would still run out of time
So if You listen to my heart
Every beat would say,
Thank You for the Life, thank You for the Truth, thank You for the Way. 

Currently on RoF's playlist:
Oh Happy Day from the movie The Sister Act 2
Seasons of Love from the Broadway musical RENT
True Colors (w/ revised lyrics) by Cyndi Lauper [also seen on GLEE! :D]

"As it is, there are many parts, but one body." 1 Corinthians 12:20