By intermission, I knew it was a hit.

By the time Wesla went on in the second set, I knew that this may be the greatest musical event Sonoma County had ever witnessed. Not the biggest. Not the most highly acclaimed, but the best in terms of the quality of music, the spirit of the audience and the feeling of community and purpose experienced by all.

You can plan and work and ask for favors, line things up and kick some teenage butt, but you never know what’s going to happen when the day of the show rolls around and it’s raining and you have 2 hours to rehearse and it’s the first time you’ve gathered all these singers and musicians together and you’ve never met the sound man much less worked in this theater and even though you’ve sold over 100 tickets, will anyone even show up on this rainy Thursday night? You don’t know, really, whether any of this is going to work or not.

But at 7:30 pm, the band started playing "I Get a Kick Out of You," and I went on stage in my silky red dress and purple high heels and sang the opening song. And it felt good. I looked out at a full house and it felt good. The sound on stage was great; I could hear myself, and I didn’t sound half bad. And when that first song was finished, the crowd cheered and applauded, and that felt damned good. I could feel that this was a great crowd, an audience ready to participate and enjoy themselves. And THAT felt really good.

I did my MC thing between songs, talking about how and why these singers were here tonight, and the crowd was right with me, laughing and clapping as if on cue. Yummy. That feeling is so yummy. And then, I sang my second and final song of the evening, Teach Me Tonight, and I did a good job. Not great, but good, and Rich Armstrong blew a trumpet solo that shook the audience to their core. They knew, with that solo, this guy was going to rock their world so they better pay attention.

I want to say right here that while this show would have been really good without Rich playing, it was truly great because of his playing. He was the magical merlin who transformed this show into something no one will ever forget. Well, at least I’ll never forget.

I introduced Ernie Shelton then scurried off-stage, a little high and a little relieved. I’d been nervous
about Teach Me Tonight because it’s not a song I sing any more, and there’s that key change in the middle and it sits a little weird in my voice. Despite all that, I chose it because it fit the theme of the evening. So, to have gotten through it well was a relief.

From the green room, where I sat with T (I call Terese "T") and Wesla, who was crocheting, I could hear Ernie, and he sounded really good, better than ever. Ah, this was going so well. The band sounded fabulous, too.

Doing my MC thing again, I went out and acknowledged all the sponsors, and then I introduced T. And ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Terese Genecco stole the show. She wasn’t kidding when she sang "Tonight You Belong to Me." From that song on, the audience was in love with her. They couldn’t get enough. Especially the Chamber Singers, who were seated right up front and to the left. By the end of her 4-song set, those kids were on their feet, cheering and clapping like it was a rock concert. The rest of the audience followed their lead and T walked off to a standing ovation.

It was intermission time, and I knew we had a hit! I was so excited that all I could do was jump up and down. I went out to the lobby to get a glass of wine, and there was my husband, proud as punch. It was so good to see him. I was so happy.

I ended up talking to a lot of people during intermission, my Connections buddies, Julee —my bestest friend, Philip Nix, the president of my fan club (just kidding, but if I did have a fan club, I’d want Philip as my president), Karen Pierce-Gonzalez, who had done all the public relations for this event, and I was introduced to many other people. Everyone was having the best time. Everyone was loving it!

Craig Ahlswede, one of the sponsors of the event, was buying wine at the bar. I thanked him for making this all possible. He said, "This whole thing is making me want to go write you another check!" My friend Julee introduced me to Chris Smith, a columnist of the Press Democrat who wrote a nice little blurb in his column about the show. I got to thank him as well.

I was so high on the energy of success that I thought I’d never come down. And Wesla still hadn’t sung yet!

All during the intermission the silent auction was going on. This
huge auction was run by the parents of the Montgomery High School
Chamber Singers. In the end, that auction made over $4,000, almost half
of our total profit on the show. These parents never took the stage, but their efforts made this event the financial success it was.

Second set. I introduce Dana Alexander, choral director at
Montgomery High School, and the Montgomery
High School Chamber Singers.
The crowd goes wild. These kids really are the stars of the show. All
night they have been sitting in the audience listening to me talk about
how this is all for them, feeling the support of the community who has
come out to support them, and listening to these great musicians play
because of them. And now it was their turn to show their stuff.

Thank God they were great! Even Mike Greensill came up to me and
said, "Those kids are really good!" It would have been really tragic if
we had busted our butts to support a chamber group who was mediocre!

After the Chamber Singers did their three songs, I went on stage to
introduce Wesla Whitfield. I had had a few guzzled glasses of wine by this time
(I drink way too fast when I’m excited and hyped up) but I had to get
it together. It was important to me to do a good job. I did my best, and as Wesla came out, and I went backstage, I
started crying. I’m not sure why I love Wesla the way I do, but I do.
She is definitely one of my idols and now, a mentor. And to have her be
a part of this evening, to have someone of her caliber say "Yes" when I asked her to do
this benefit, it meant a lot to me.

And now she was taking the stage to do her magic.

Unlike Terese who goes out there and grabs the audience, Wesla reels
them in, quietly, subtly, magically. Bravely starting with a ballad,
"Look for the Silver Lining," she took her time, slowly charming
everyone. By the time she sang, "You Must Believe in Spring," the
Chamber Singers were all crying, and so was I as I listened back stage.
No one has ever sung that song better. No one.

And just when I thought my heart had had enough, she closed the
night with "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,"  a Jimmy Webb tune that
slays me every time I hear her sing it.

And in that vulnerable condition,  we all took the stage for the
finale, "Seasons of Love," which, as it turns out, truly was the
perfect finale number. Dana conducted all of us, and at one point, I
looked at her and she looked at me, and something zinged between us. A
recognition that we had created something truly magnificent. We had
done it! It had worked. And here we were, singing all together, a song
about life and friendship. It was a triumphant moment.

I’ll never forget "Going For The Gold In New York City." At least, I hope I never do. It was
the most rewarding, soul-satisfying project I have ever worked
on. As I told Dana, it is now the gold standard by which I will compare
any other show or project I ever do. There was a magic in this event
from the start. From that first moment Dana and I sat down at that
patisserie and made our initial plans. From the moment Wesla said,
"Yes," and Terese said "Yes" and Ernie said "Yes." And all the yeses I
received from everyone after that.

To everyone who made this possible, and there were a hell of a lot
of people, thank you. Thank you for sending the Montgomery High School
Chamber Singers to New York. Thank you for creating the Greatest
Musical Event EVER!