At 7:00 on a given evening, a phenomenon occurs in public and private schools across the country. It is known as the Elementary Music Program. Although each program is distinct, different teachers, unusual songs, unique voices, they all share an ineffable quality no matter where you are in the land. It is a quality so dear as to be almost holy, so precious as to be a prayer.

It doesn't start out to be even close to precious however. It's more raucous, unkempt, and unholy. These things take work, time, more work and more time, and a dedicated music teacher. But the kids are into it. They love to sing and they begin to see where it will actually make sense and have some unity. Eventually they are hooked. They are past the messy stage. It's like learning to fly a kite or to snowboard: messy, messy, a little better, a lot better, wow! You hear them practicing in the lunch line, on the way to PE, getting on the bus, walking home. They are a little club unto themselves and they all belong. Now I'm humming the tunes.

Every year the music program helps one, two or three children find their real voice. I have known children who struggle in the classroom: they may barely be able to read, writing eludes them, and math is out of the question. Then they start singing and a whole world opens up to them. They have found a place where they can shine, and everyone can hear it too. The good soccer players and the fast readers are impressed with this hidden talent. Wow, did you hear Jeremy, he can sing! Most music teachers are great at unearthing these hidden talents, and can be responsible for changing how a child feels about his or herself, and about school.

The dress rehearsal can be a fiasco. This year it was. A few girls decided that they were 'too nervous' to perform. There followed a kind of nervous fever that many more caught. Suddenly there were twelve or fifteen bodies splayed out in the auditorium chairs kind of moaning. Then, the rest of them weren't singing out. As a matter of fact, they didn't appear to know the words to several of the songs. Our music teacher asked if I could work with the Russian dancers. They hadn't had time to practice their routine and you could tell that they hadn't. Yikes, I thought. We went back to the classroom and practiced a lot. So did the other teachers. "Oh well", sighed one of the children, "my mom said it makes it more real if there are mistakes". It will be real, I thought. Then come the last minute reminders to bring props, wear their nice clothes or their costume, and come to the auditorium on time.

They are there on time, with a few exceptions. Our music teacher has them lined up in a hallway just off the stage. There she goes through last minute instructions, checks their props, offers words of encouragement. And then, Oh, where is Jaspreet, has anyone seen him? He is important, one of the narrators, and he is not there. She is calm. "Not to worry", she says, "I'll just say his part". We teachers take our seats front and center to offer prompts as needed. The parents and families are seated. It's time. They file onto the stage as the lights are dimmed. Jaspreet runs on stage and takes his spot. The anticipation is no less than the big stage anywhere, only the stars are our children.

As the strains of the first song begin so do my tears. They come automatically as though on cue. There they are, the children, our children, the world's children and they are singing with all their heart. They are singing out as the stage lights illuminate their faces. They go through their routines, use their props, play to the audience, make the mistakes that make it real. They make us laugh when we are supposed to. The young soloists do their songs and they are good! A knack for humor and timing emerges from another child. There is the ham. Everybody loves a ham. The finale is grand and there is a standing ovation, of course. Who knows what any of these children will become. We can only see what they are right now.

I freeze this moment of innocence, etch it in my brain, my mind's eye. It translates into a universal: children singing, children together, hope. It is all right there on a stage in any town, anywhere, for anyone to see, and it's free.