Happy New Year

Hi Georgia

You're always on my mind, but I find that the holidays make it somehow more poignant. I love the music of the holidays, because it reminds me of countless performances with you and the other Quarter Notes. I love the way people are kinder and more thoughtful to each other, just like you always were. I think of your beautiful singing voice whenever anyone mentions the angels who appeared to the shepherds so long ago; surely you must have been among that Heavenly Host! But mostly I rejoice in celebrating the Savior's birth, because it's His life and sacrifice that make eternal life, and a reunion with you, possible.

Cami and I had occasion to be together this past week. We laughed, and were silly (oh you would have LOVED the "dance party" we, not our children, started), but mostly we rejoiced in each other's company and the fact that the Good Lord saw fit to keep us safe between this meeting and the last. I have no doubt, Georgia, that that's how it will feel when we see each other again. We will embrace, and remark on how long it's been, and yet how close we still feel. We will as Alma and the sons of Mosiah rejoice that we are still sisters in the Lord. (see Alma 2:17)

So Happy Holidays, friend. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for teaching me what Christmas is about: celebrating and believing in the Savior and His mission.

And as Cami and I sang together today, May God Be With You Till We Meet Again.

Miss you Georgia...

It's been so long since I have been here, and am so happy I stopped in to say hello
Tonight I am making pasta, my kids are in bed, and the TV is off. Ahhh...just me. My wife is out shopping for a birthday present for my little boy who turns 6 tomorrow. Crazy huh?
It makes me so happy to hear your song Pie Jesu...your voice is so true and pure. It reminds me how I feel when peace is around.
You emulate that very word Georgia, Peace.
Hey I have an idea, will you do me a favor tonight and go sing to my kids in their dreams? You are so good with kids...Oh please...will you play and sing with them tonight? The would love to get to know you,...just go introduce yourself, they are open to beautiful angels like you. They play with my dad at night all the time, the tell me about how they went and played on the swings with Papa Glauser at night...so they would fit right in with your antics. I bet you can play some really cool games, huh?
I am sure that they will let me know how it goes, they Always tell me what the did while they were sleeping...so cute!

Well, G. I miss you. Just wanted to drop in and share a bit of my week with ya. much hugs and love.

Brad
(Elder Glauser - YPM Nauvoo 2000)

Thank you, you the best.

Tender Mercy

September 25 is always a bittersweet day for me. Bitter, because I feel again the pain of your absence. Sweet because I reflect on the beauty of your life and the myriad of lessons I've learned from you, such as the reality of life's fragility, the necessity of loving those around you and telling them you love them, the uselessness of getting upset over small things, the fact that experiencing pain only expands our ability to feel love. But we have to choose to let that love back in.

Sometimes I wish more people had known you and your kindness, genuineness, love, joy. I just try to add a little more of those things to my own life, to pass on your legacy of those good things.

On most Sundays, I perform with a big choir downtown for their weekly broadcast. I think it's a Tender Mercy that on yesterday's broadcast they programed the song "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You", because this is my prayer for you. For us both, really. (don't tell anyone, but I sobbed through the whole performance of it)

"May you walk with sunlight shining
And a blue bird in every tree
May there be silver lining
Back of every cloud you see

Fill your dreams with sweet tomorrows
Never mind what might have been
May the Good Lord bless and keep you
Till we meet again"

I'm so grateful to know we will meet again.
Love you and miss you,
B

Smiley Faces and Exclamation Points! :)

Whenever I look back through old journals, I can immediately recognize an entry that has anything to do with Georgia - it's smothered in smiley faces and exclamation points, and her name is usually in all caps, circled, underlined several times, and so forth. This reflects both how I feel about her, and how she always makes me feel. The recent entries about music camps have triggered so many memories about Georgia. One in particular from Summerfest (the same year Melanie Richards described), reminds me of the :)'s and !!!'s in my journal and one reason for them. Along with our string classes and so forth, we were able to participate in a choir, directed by Ron Staehli. We sang, "Accentuate The Positive." The lyrics are as follows:

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

And so forth...

I remember Georgia during all the rehearsals, just singing her heart out, as though she had written the song herself. She exemplified the words of that song! She truly accentuated the positive in everything.

Georgia's Violin

Today Georgia's Violin sang out. Melaine was chosen to play on the Honor's concert at Suzuki Institute this afternoon. She now plays Georgia's violin and there have been split seconds that as she plays I'll get a flash of Georgia standing in her place moving with the violin. With Melaine's hair up in a messy bun, and a black concert dress with a soft blue sash, she played with that same strong spirit Georgia had. I thought of Georgia. What a joy to have her legacy move on through this violin. Georgia is ever aware of us. I am glad that Melaine has such a roll model, because she Rocked today!

Paige

Chickens?

This week is Intermountain Suzuki String Institute in Sandy, UT, an annual event at which Georgia and I and scores of our music-making friends attended when we were young.

This year, as well as last, I had the happy accident of running into Georgia's sister, Paige, at ISSI, and it just so happens that my violin-playing daughter shares a class with Paige's cello-playing son. This class is for beginners: it involves singing, and balancing beanbags on your head, and waving your arms like a birds' wings, and tapping rhythm sticks together.

Today's activity was to cluck and scratch at the ground like chickens while we listened to a piece about such animals from Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals. Truth be told, I felt like a ninny, clucking and bobbing my head and pretending to be a hen. But I looked up and saw Paige doing the same thing. What was even more hilarious is that we were both doing it with such conviction, in order to inspire our kids to join in! Come on kids, be a chicken! Being a chicken is fun! Listen to how the music sounds like chickens! Isn't this fun!!! Cluck! Scratch! Bob! Flap! And at that moment, and for some reason I can't explain, I had this image of Georgia in between us, clucking and flapping and playing the part of hen, in all her enthusiasm, and I just laughed. We looked ridiculous, but we were having fun. And I'm sure she would have had fun right along with us!

My Memories of Georgia

I have some fun memories of Georgia. I first met Georgia at BYU Summerfest music camp when we were young teenagers. She was our concertmistress that year, and I was sitting in the viola section. When she first got up to tune the orchestra, she smiled. I recognized that smile as being identical to the one I saw on Kate Marriott's face months earlier at a regional viola conference just before she played Walton Viola Concerto. It was then that I made the connection that they were sisters.

That year at Summerfest we played the 3rd movement of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony and Samson and Deliliah by Saint-Saens. Clyn Barrus was our conductor. (Georgia and Clyn are two people that I am looking forward to becoming better acquainted with on the other side of the veil.) It was a very musical, spiritual, and memorable experience to be a part of that group. My mom sat in the audience for the concert. After the performance she said, "You have a very good concertmistress." I replied, "How do you know?" My mom said, "She was the one hitting all of the high notes in tune. I could hear her. She did a great job."

She was an inspiring performer. She did a very skilled performance of Sarasate's Zapateado at the Summerfest masterclass for Igor and Vesna Gruppman which inspired the students who listened. For her ensemble piece, she played the 3rd movement of the Schubert Cello Quintet with Lexye (Lund) Thiele, Natalie Drorbaugh and Ramona (Jacob) McConkie. That was my first time becoming acquainted with that piece. Ever since then, I have simply fallen in love with it. It has become one of my favorites. I love to listen to the entire piece. I remember their performance distinctly. Georgia walked out on stage and she had her hair on both sides twisted and then gathered at the back. That was the first time I'd seen anybody do their hair like that.

On another occasion at Summerfest, we were outside playing games. I was standing by eating refreshments while a girl standing next to me was watching the watermelon relay race. When she noticed that Georgia was getting ahead in the race, she said, "Dang. She plays well AND she can run faster than anybody."

I was so shy back then. I didn't have the guts to join her circle of friends (although I was fortunate enough to play a Beethoven quartet with Lexye that year and have since become good friends with Lexye), but I hope that one day I will be able to meet her again and become her friend.

With Love,
Melanie Richards