"Sovereign Lord" Premiere
We just got back from Florida yesterday and I needed to hit the ground running to catch up today. I finally have some time at the end of the day to blog about our trip to Florida and my musical premiere.
We got on the plane last Friday and arrived in Orlando in the evening. We had a great time catching up with my niece and her family who lives in Orlando and another niece who came to visit. After a night at their house and a beautiful Florida morning breakfast on their patio, Jodie and I headed to Cocoa Beach for a few days. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, on the beach front. The weather was just perfect and we ate at some great restaurants there. There is nothing like sitting at the beach to let the tension all drain out. The sounds, the sensations, the sun. It was wonderful.
On Monday, we headed back in town to the church were Music Florida had started. After scouting things out were made a trip to the Florida Mall to eat and hit the shops. They have a place there you can surf indoors. It's wild...water jets shooting up a ramp where you can hang ten. If we had more time...
We headed back to the church and saw stacks of my musical right next to Sue Smith and Lee Black's octavo. I took a picture with my phone and sent it to them. It was cool to see the names of friends on the covers of different projects. We got a call from Dave Clark, my publisher who was on his way to meet us there. Donna Norton also came down from Georgia to see the premiere. Dave introduced us to George Baldwin from Lillenas when he arrived. Then I got to meet Derek Johnson who is the director of the Disney "Voices of Liberty" who were singing the musical that night.
After the sound check George asked me to come backstage to pray with the singers. Then I went back to sit with Jodie, my nieces, and their family who came to the concert.
I remember hearing this group when I took a group of campus ministry students to Epcot one year. I was greatly moved by their acapella patriotic numbers back then. I don't know if any of the members were the same but the voices were wonderful. They didn't have much time to work up the musical so they used their books but I could see that the songs touched them as they sang. Dave made note that the spiritual atmosphere of the evening was strong. The soloists on "Sovereign Lord" were so moving there was one of those expressions of delight a crowd will make on occasion at the end of the song as well as the applause. My niece turned to me in tears at that moment and said, "You wrote that?" That warmed my heart.
Both Dave and George had prepared me a little saying the crowds at these things could be a little tough. I tried not to be nervous and just sit back, enjoy the program, and watch the reaction. When they stood to applaud at the end of the program we could see that the music and the message had resonated. What a blessing to experience the whole process. I am just praying now that the Lord will use it to touch the lives of those who sing it and hear it's message. We have a great King. He is the only one who deserves the throne. He will come with all the host of heaven. He will finally get the glory and honor due Him. What a blessing it is to serve Him. I am filled with gratitude tonight.