CCA’s One Life show choir provides shining example perseverance

By Guest Columnist Amy Bambera

On Friday, March 3, the One Life show choir from Clinton Christian Academy displayed resilience and persistence rarely seen in a group of seventh- to ninth-grade students.

Clinton has long been considered a hub for world-class show choir talent, with the renowned Attaché and Ambassadors programs.

Clinton Christian Academy’s show choirs are understandably smaller, with thirty-one students participating in One Life (twenty-four performing at a time), competing in the small division at various competitions, but, under the direction of Cindi Nix, have been known for being excellent for many years.

Last Friday [March 3], CCA’s middle school show choir, One Life, proved they are champions in their own right at the Madison Central Invitational.

The show started off rocky, as the microphones were not on for the first soloist to sing “Blowing in the Wind.” Freshman Rivers McMullan sang out confidently, despite this setback.

Problems continued when, halfway through the second song, the music started coming in and out, until finally cutting completely.

These young students never missed a beat, but continued to sing and dance as if their accompaniment was playing strong.

The girls’ number was a medley of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I Feel the Earth Move.” This song was very chorography-heavy, with a dance break in the middle, but the students had no music to dance to! They did not quit, they stayed completely in sync, smiling, singing, and dancing to the sound only of their own feet on the boards.

The most special moment of the show occurred during the ballad, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Although this song was supposed to have accompaniment, the a cappella voices of the choir were so beautiful, it brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience. The swelling vocals of three-part harmony washed over all as they sat in awe of the students’ courage and spirit.

After a rousing rendition of Elvis’ “Hunka Hunka Burning Love” in the second set, the music finally came back on during the finale, Gavin DeGraw’s “Fire.” The students of One Life finished their show and took their bow to a standing ovation – from the front of the auditorium to the back.

Later, at the awards presentations, One Life received first place in their division: a hard-earned reward for overcoming obstacles and pressing through.

This persistence and grit in students so young is directly attributed to the dedicated work of One Life director Cindi Nix and the culture of CCA, which values the unity of the body of Christ, as was displayed on that stage at Madison Central last Friday.

Like many extracurricular activities, show choir is beneficial in itself, in that it teaches teamwork while working towards a common goal. What made One Life’s performance so remarkable was the determination and courage they showed when faced with difficulties and hardship. Not one of the thirty-five students lost their place, not one started frowning or showed their discomfort.

Each and every one continued to do his or her part to give their best performance of the season.

This was a lesson to us all.

We all will be surprised by difficulties at some point. Seasons that we thought would be smooth sailing may turn out to have unforeseen obstacles. What is one to do when faced with unexpected hardship? According to the junior high students of One Life, the answer is, “Do what you know is right.”

When their music stopped, they could have given up, they could have walked off of the stage, they could have broken formation and fallen apart. Instead, they just continued to do what they have been taught, what they knew to be right.

May we all learn to do the same.