What an honor it was for us to be asked to sing the National Anthem for the Freedom Festival's Patriotic Service. We've been asked how this came to be. Crystal usually responds, "Cuz we're awesome!" And although this is the truth, the details are kind of fun. If you've been following, you know that we submitted an audition video for the Stadium of Fire Talent Search. In that contest, we were not even selected to be in the top forty. OUCH! But, this was the first time we put ourselves out there for judgement, so we took it in stride. We were happy we tried and looked at it as a good experience for growth. A month or so passed, and out of nowhere, we received a call from the Patriotic Service's Director/Producer. She said she had seen the video and wanted to know if we were willing to sing for the service. WILLING!?!? Yes, WILLING to BEG for the chance if necessary! Completely floored and excited, we got ourselves ready, while continuing to plan our upcoming concert.
When the day arrived, we weren't sure what to expect. It was beyond our expectations! They took great care of us.
A dressing room of our own, snacks and dinner served, and the BEST hair and make-up artists we could ask for!
We also got to meet and visit with some of Utah's best talents, such as: Daniel Beck, who taught us that in California, something wasn't just awesome, it's "Hecka" awesome! Kerilyn Johnson, who Brandy mistook for Miss America because she is SO beautiful, was also incredibly nice and funny. She really helped us to feel at ease. And Rigoletto star Joseph Paur, all we could say was "We loved you in Rigoletto"!
Miss Utah, Miss America, and the Las Vegas The Phantom of the Opera performer Benjamin Hale were also participants we were happy to rub shoulders with. But our sweet friend for the day was a darling 11 year old who blew everyone away with her rendition of God Bless America. We are sad we can't remember her name, but we adored her as she kept finding us to stay close by.
We sang a National Anthem arrangement that came to us courtesy of Dr. Jason Heald. To his two part arrangement, Crystal added a third part harmony which fit Kismet's sound beautifully. We then did some interpretation and tweaking, which we like to call "Kismetizing a song". We are very happy with the finished product.
After singing we were seated in the special performers section to watch the rest of the show with our husbands and our Camille. Seated just behind us were our close friends and extended family members. We took in the beautiful messages and music that inspired patriotism and gratitude for this great, God given country in which we live. We truly are PROUD to be Americans.
