A LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY:

"Did you ever think how many people it took to get you to where you are, Cheryl?" said Uncle Glenn. He and my other four uncles, the brothers of our father, tried their best to fill that role for my sister and me when our father died shortly after my birth. On clear summer nights Uncle Glenn would point out the star positions to us and take us arrowhead hunting in the Appalachian hills surrounding our home in Pennsylvania. He chose to join all his brothers by enlisting to serve in WWII before he was of age and received a purple heart in his fourth month of service at the age of 17. He is a historian, a chronicler of family and community history, and lover of Civil War stories. Recently I stood between him and his son, my cousin Jon, in church and we sang the hymns as we have my entire life, everyone taking a different vocal line. I am grateful for everyone and everything in my life that got me here and enables me to pursue my passion for music with this community.

Tom Brokaw,on Friday morning's news, spoke about both New York’s and Pennsylvania’s tragedies on September 11, 2001. In view of the devastation of the areas in the southeast hit by hurricane Katrina, he commented on the human ability to respond and recover from catastrophic events. He repeated a quote, saying that three things can cause this level of problems: "terrorism, nature, and incompetence." He reflected that healing, solace, and accomplishment comes from three sources: "sacrifice, commitment, and common purpose."

As we perform this work of art, which proceeded from the genius mind of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, we dedicate ourselves to performing it competently, beautifully, artistically, and from our hearts. That is our commitment and common purpose. I hope you will receive it the same way, and in so doing we, as a community, can honor those who "got us here,” those who were lost, and find reasons to hope, to cherish and rededicate ourselves to the principles upon which we build our lives and derive strength.

Thank you for being here today.

Cheryl Anderson