Families and friends gathered at Mt. Orab Bible Baptist Church June 13 for Piano Recital 2023.
Twelve of Mrs. Rankin’s piano students attended the recital with two prepared songs each. They presented songs for learning to play the piano, classical pieces, gospel choruses, and hymns.
Mrs. Rankin opened the recital with I Ask the Lord and How Great Thou Art. She gave a brief synopsis of each gospel hymn.
She stated, “I Ask the Lord declared that God will help us when we got to him in prayer, and How Great Thou Art praises God for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.”
Mrs. Rankin’s first student to perform was Secily Fithen. Secily played Baseball Days and The Postman. She attends elementary school at the Western Brown School District.
Ellie Henson played the gospel chorus Do Lord and the John Thompson piece entitled Run Away River. Ellie attends St. Michael School in Ripley.
Jesus Loves Me and A Message were performed by Leah Holt. Leah is a student of Hamersville School.
Savannah Halcomb, also a student at Hamersville School, played Amazing Grace and Lazy Mary.
Gavyn Lykins played a gospel chorus entitled Kum-ba-ya, My Lord and the peaceful song Swans on the Lake.
Gavyn is a student at Blanchester School.
Kairi Strickland performed two pieces that are written in minor keys. They were Go Down Moses and Hide and Seek. Kairi attends Georgetown Exempted Village Schools.
The B-I-B-L-E and On Yonder Rock Reclining were performed by Lilly Campbell. Lilly is a student at Western Brown Middle School.
A Journey in the Arctic and the gospel hymn He Loves Me were performed by Braden Burton, a home-school high school junior.
Colin Campbell played Jericho and an advanced arrangement of Amazing Grace. Both songs praise the Lord for his almighty power to save.
The gospel hymn A Shelter in the Time of Storm was performed by Elizabeth Castle of Fayetteville. She also performed The Nightingale and the Cuckoo. This fall, Elizabeth will be studying music at Morehead State University.
Nate Burton played a classical piece entitled Dark Eyes and the gospel hymn Master the Tempest is Raging. Master the Tempest is Raging was composed from Mark 4:37-39 in the Bible. Nate is a home-schooled high school senior.
The last student to perform was Andrew Lewis. Andrew played the gospel hymn My Savior First of All written by Fanny J. Crosby. This hymn speaks of how we will know Jesus our savior when we get to heaven. It says we shall know him by the prints of the nails in his hands. Andrew also played by memory I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked, a six page advanced arrangement. Andrew will be a freshman at Western Brown High School this fall.
All 12 students dedicated themselves to attending weekly lessons and spending much time practicing to make the recital a great success. Piano Recital 2023 was enjoyed by all.
Much appreciation is extended to Pastor House for allowing the piano recital to be held at Mt. Orab Bible Baptist Church.