Hosted at 10 churches statewide from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6, the Mississippi Baptist Area Keyboard Festivals celebrated 706 talented students, from kindergarten through 12th grade, who displayed diligence and discipline in their respective categories.
From sight-reading to modulation to transposition, children learn not only to play piano but also to accompany a music minister and gain the confidence to perform any song before a congregation.
Team effort
Wyndy South, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board consultant of Worship Ministries and festivals coordinator, emphasized that organizing and instructing more than 700 children would not be possible without the meticulous and passionate efforts of adjudicators, volunteers, piano teachers and others.
“I work with people who are passionate, who see the need, the benefit and the eternal rewards, and they help from all over Mississippi,” South said. “I could not do this without the churches or the schools who allowed me to bring this wonderful chaos into their environments, or the leaders who direct the hymns or call people’s names, or the adjudicators who drive in from all over the state to encourage these children.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lindsey Williams and originally published by the Baptist Record.
