Page 18 - 2018AugSept

Reflections...

I by Katie Butler Johnson
love to travel.
Trips are particularly enticing when they include a rare
opportunity. My recent trek to Washington D.C. was just
such a trip. When groups reserve spaces and someone fails to show up, the
ticket taker saves the extra space to give to someone “at her
I went with the Allen Symphony Chorus to be part of the 147 discretion.” Armed with that knowledge, I humbly approached
singers assembled from across the country by Manhattan Concert the ticket taker. She claimed she didn’t have any extra spots. I
Productions to perform Durufle’s Requiem at the Kennedy told her I would just wait around quietly in case one came up.
Center on June 18, 2018.
After about 20 minutes, I thanked her for her consideration and
My journey was prompted by a phone call last year from Rusty told her I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to see the museum
King, Director of the Allen Symphony Chorus. He dangled the and still make my rehearsal if I waited much longer. She asked
opportunity in front of me like a carrot.
what the rehearsal was for. I told her I would be singing at the
I’d retired from the chorus several years before. As a great- Kennedy Center the next evening. Her eyes lit up as if I’d uttered
granny with afib, I wondered if I would have the stamina to stand the password. She reached into her back pocket, pulled out one
and sing for the length of the Requiem. Was I sensible enough of those “discretionary” tickets she “just” remembered she had
to decline? Of course not! I considered it a challenge and was in and ushered me in.
from the get-go.
The Museum is a gem. I won’t tell you about it and spoil the fun
We started rehearsals in September 2017. They intensified in of discovering it for yourself. I’ll just hint that the top two floors
early 2018. When my afib started complaining, I took time out to are not to be missed.
quiet it with an ablation at Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano. That The morning after the concert, when we were waiting for the bus
slowed me a bit.
to take us to the airport, Rusty dangled a second carrot in front
About mid-March, I realized I didn’t have the stamina to stand of me. He is currently in negotiations with Manhattan Concert
and sing for the time required. Did I bow out gracefully? You Productions to bring the Allen Symphony Chorus to New York’s
guessed it. No. Instead, with the blessing of my doc, I devised an Carnegie Hall in May of 2020.
exercise program to build stamina: water aerobics, tap dancing, Should I take a bite of that carrot?
walking and drumba. It worked. Not only did it boost up my
stamina, it whittled me back into my performance attire. I had no
problem standing and singing on stage or touring the D.C. area
during a muggy heat wave.
While amid fellow choristers in the Hall of Nations at the
Kennedy Center awaiting admittance to the Green Room the
night of the concert, the significance of it hit me all at once. I got
goose bumps. I’d be following the footsteps of legends who’d
performed on that storied stage. Being able to add my voice to
the music filling the Kennedy Concert Hall was magical.
I did touristy things in DC: took the hop on/off bus tour; saw
a one act play at the Ford Theater; took pictures of the White
House with Secret Service perched on the roof indicating
president was there; took a night tour of the Capitol and went on
an 11pm cruise of the Potomac.
There was one museum I was eager to visit: the new African
American Museum. I approached a guard outside to ask where
you buy tickets. She told me tickets were free. But, you could
only get them online Monday through Friday for specific time
frames. Since it was Sunday morning, I was out of luck. Or was
I? After a little more bonding and subtle probing, she confided
there was a way to get in even if you didn’t have a ticket.

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