Music is magical. And when it is performed by a group of high school students -- some of who may just be finding their voices -- it is extraordinary.

We just experienced the annual fall concert put on by the choirs of our local high school. There have been years when this first concert of the year might just have been a little hard on the ear -- a bit abrasive, even.

But not this year. These young people sang their collective heart out, and very well I might add. From the novice to the most experienced, they were "on."

Songs sung in Latin. Songs sung in Swahili. Songs with Gaelic origins. Snappy jazz tunes and jumping tributes to the birth of Rock-n-Roll. Spirituals and songs from the silver- screen. They were all there.

We were tapping our toes, snapping our fingers, singing out loud, swaying to the beat of African drums, and fighting off goose-bumps -- all in the course of an hour and a half. We laughed, we reminisced, and we clapped our hands until they were sore.

But, frankly, good music just has that ability; the ability to take us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions while sitting in a hard-bottomed theater seat in the midst of several hundred of our closest friends, all of whom are experiencing the same ride.

The conductor and his accompanist must have been proud of their charges last Tuesday evening. They surely left the auditorium with smiles upon their faces, a skip in their step, and a sense of joy in their hearts -- all of which can also be attributed to experiencing good music.

Little wonder the Bible has so much to say about music. Music can lift our spirits and bring us softly in for a landing. It can remind us of who we are and where we came from. It can make our hearts leap for joy and it can sooth our souls.

Most importantly, music can gain for us access into the very throne room of the Almighty. In fact, the scriptures say that God inhabits the praises of His people. He lives within our songs of praise. When we open our hearts to sing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father, He is their, and we are in His presence.

I take it back. Music isn't magical.

It's a miracle.