Romanza Festival and Some Mother's Day Fun in St. Augustine!

Hello hello! ♡

This past weekend was a very special weekend, Mother's Day Weekend! It was also very special because it was truly my last performance as a Jacksonville University Singer. I may have lied in my last concert post, oops!

We had the absolute pleasure of singing at the Romanza Festival in St. Augustine, a performance that we also did last year too! Dr. Bryson, in his ending statement, mentioned that he loved this opportunity because he was able to see faces that he won't see for a long time.

We performed our This Day program, which featured songs that encompassed and paid honor to the life of our late founding dean and past president Dr. Francis Bartlett Kinne. She was an amazing woman and was full of so much wisdom and passion for the arts. We went through the themes of Hope, Struggle, Reflection, Solidarity, and Change. We even performed a piece that was composed by Dr. Bryson using a quote by Dr. Kinne. It was a beautiful concert and a great way to leave my choral career at JU. I even got to conduct one last time!

After the concert, Daniel and I took my mom to our favorite spot in St. Augustine: Meehan's Irish Pub! We stuffed our faces with Fish and Chips, Meatloaf, and a juicy burger and talked about the concert and what my mother wanted to do for the rest of the day. I was so happy to be able to spend time with her, and always love when she gets to come and spend time with me up here in Jacksonville! I'm definitely a Mama's girl, and am proud of it! She has done so much for me in my life, and I'm glad, now that I'm old enough, that I get to pay it back to her. After the lunch, we headed to a birthday dinner for one of Daniel and my dear friends Mike, and went back to my mom's hotel. Spending the weekend with her was an absolute joy and I (as always) got pretty sad when she got in her car to go home. I always miss her when she's gone, and cherish when she's here. She's my best friend. ♡

The next performance on the docket is with the Voices of Jacksonville in Lakeland, FL at the Florida Historical Society! We'll be performing with the Jacksonville Children's Chorus and we even have a costume change! (Ooh la la!) If you're somehow in the Lakeland area, come and watch us! We'd love to see you. I know I would! I can't wait to tell you guys all about it after the performance. It'll definitely be a long day full of music, sleeping in a 12 passenger van, and eating lots of snacks! Below is a link to the concert information on the Florida Historical Society's website. Go check it out!

Voices of Jacksonville at the Florida Historical Society

Missing my mom a little extra,

Taylor.