Lessons from Collin Raye

I had the opportunity to play with the Teton Chamber Orchestra Friday and Saturday night for a private concert sponsored for Melaleuca employees. The guest artist was country music star Collin Raye. It is a lot of fun paying in the backup orchestra for such a famous artist. I truly had a blast!

I love his voice and his music, and his gracious demeanor. He is very down-to-earth and humble. Also, his band was awesome. I sat right behind the drummer and loved every loud minute of it. Possibly the best part of the show for me was the fact that Collin did lots of Christ-themed traditional Christmas carols. By that I mean, he opened with "The First Noel" and closed with "O Holy Night", both of which convey the divinity of the Savior. Don't get me wrong, I love the other music about Santa Claus and White Christmas, etc., but loved that he did a bit of everything. This is refreshing considering many of these Christ-centered songs are being avoided all in the name of political correctness. (My kids' elementary school won't allow the kids to sing any religious Christmas songs...only Jingle Bells, Jolly Old St. Nicholas and the like.)

Collin shared an experience about writing a more recent song entitled, "She's With Me": He has a 9-year old granddaughter with a serious neurological condition that has been difficult for their family. He talked about how God inspired him to write that song; it took him 20 minutes to write the song down while he was on a plane traveling. He emphasized that it had to come from 'above' because he is normally a slow songwriter. I thought it was wonderful that he acknowledges God's hand in his life and in his music. (Not the Hollywood way, now is it?)

Anyhoo, for Collin's encore number, he sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down". Note to self: Don't sing along at full volume WHILE playing my instrument. Stupid and embarrassing, self. I need to get out more.