How Can It Possibly Make a Difference?

My students and I talked about 9/11 this weekend on our retreat.

I shared my story, and reflected on the arc of my students over the years – my first students had been in middle or high school at the moment 9/11 happened. My current students weren’t alive, but their lives have been shaped in so many ways by that day before we were born.

I also shared that I think music groups can be a source of solace, growth, and positive change in the world. But I asked – how can a small group such as a choir possibly make a difference when placed opposite an event like the 9/11 attacks?

My students had clear, insightful ideas: we can create change by making a connection with audiences, creating a ripple effect. We can choose music that inspires or soothes. We can work to reach more people with our music.

But there’s another, more important difference we can make by singing together.

We make a difference in ourselves.

The music we make together changes us far more than it changes anyone else. Over time, the music and the work together remake us. We carry our remade selves forward into all future connections. That is the ripple effect that makes a difference.