Here we are in the middle of the holiday season. I just attended my son's winter musical, we have begun to sing Christmas Hymns in church, and local Marshall Community groups are performing their Christmas concerts. What more encouragement do you need to get into the Christmas excitement than the Philharmonic and Community Chorus? I will tell you what I needed this year, a dear friend's senior piano recital. I had the privilege of attending her final college recital, of which fulfills part of her requirements for her Bachelor of Science degree in Music with an emphasis in performance.

Amazingly, my 16-year-old son chose to attend the recital with me and I think his eyes opened wide as she made the ivories resonate with Rhapsody in G Minor. Although I was familiar with these senior recitals, I had forgotten the preparation and practice that is required of these talented musicians. After the 50-minute recital of four arrangements by Brahms among others, my hands ached and my mind was swirling from the exhilaration and perfection displayed. Simply the physical ability to play for nearly 50 minutes with such expression wears on your hands and mind from the memorization of these great pieces of music.

Nearly every Sunday I watch and pay attention to the musicians that provide the glorious piano and organ music at my church. I listen to our choir and the various solos distinctively offered. These performances, although common for Church music, masks the deep ability of the pianist and organist skill and professional training. Due to my lack of musical talent, I have grown to value the talent displayed. Most people are not aware of the quality of rehearsal and level of skill required to perform a recital, such as the one I attended Friday night, which gave me this "food for blog."

The Marshall Community is so blessed to have so much musical talent within its community members. The Marshall Philharmonic and Community Chorus' concert was December 7th and as you might have read in the Democrat News, together these two groups have been performing over 70 years. Hours after hours of rehearsal has been devoted to the community's enjoyment and all current and past group members deserve a thank you this holiday season. Ron Sayer, Kevin Lines, and Julie Lewis direct and accompany a very talented group of individuals and while most of us are unaware how lucky we are to have them in our community, they all should know they are appreciated.

Keep in mind that these groups, along with the Marshall Community Band and Marshall Community Theater, are all volunteer only performance groups. We have such resources available right outside our front door yet three-fourths of the community chooses not to attend the performances. Maybe cultural events are not high on your agendas, the recital was not high on my son's agenda either, but he was impressed all the same. At some point in our lives, we must all step out of our comfort zone and seek new adventures. My good friend tells me it is "good for me to get a little culture every so often."

Mark your calendars for the remaining events coming up within the community. The Democrat News published a list of coming events in the next weeks. Christmas programs include two performances by the Marshall Community Chorus. The first performance is Saturday, December 13, 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Marshall. The second "Glorious Sounds of the Season" will be preformed Sunday, December 14 at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church. Step out of your comfort zone for approximately an hour, meet some new people, thank our local musicians with your support, and ring in the holidays.