Good morning! My name is Sarah Williams. It’s     1     honour to be here and to share     2     you the story of how music has had an impact     3     my life.

Have you ever faced a time     4     things looked dark and you had no hope at all? Two years ago, I was told I had a serious disease     5     was difficult to cure. My body     6     (ache) all the time and thus I thought I didn’t have much longer to live. I was very afraid and I felt so alone and     7     (discourage). Then one day, I had to go through a two-hour medical     8     (treat). The doctor wanted me     9     (relax), so he had me listen to some music, and one of the songs was “Happy”. The song made me feel so much better     10     from then     11     I began to listen to music all the time. John A Logan said, “Music is the medicine of the mind.” And it’s true. Music     12     (help) me recover.

Music gave me     13     (happy). When I listened to music, it made my     14     (spirit) fly like a kite in the wind. Music gave me     15     (strong) and     16     (bring) me relief. It was the rock I leant     17     to become strong and     18     (get) through those hard times. Moreover, music gave me hope and a sense of     19     (satisfy). It     20     (become) my best friend. It spoke words of     21     (encourage ) to the deepest part of my being. Of course, I hope none of you have to go     22     the same kind of suffering     23     I did.     24     the same time, we all go through various     25     (period) when we feel sad or alone. During those times, music can help you in the same way     26     it helped me. I hope all of you will somehow begin to treasure music and make it     27     part of your life.

Imagine     1    (have) the opportunity     2    (sing) together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record     3    (they) while they perform alone on video. These videos are uploaded     4     the Internet, and then they     5    (put)together into one video     6     you can see online — a virtual choir. Anyone can take part     7     a virtual choir from anywhere — all you need is a video camera and an Internet     8    (connect). You do not even need a studio. A virtual choir helps connect ordinary people together. Many people do not have close friends or contacts     9     have the same interest in music. Many others do not have the chance     10    (join) a local choir. A virtual choir enables them     11    (add) their voices     12    those of other     13    (individual) and become part of the global community. It has proved     14    (be ) a positive influence on the lives of many people.     15     one virtual choir member said, “Music     16    (help) me to…forget my problems. With music, I become someone else.”

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning     17    (compose) and 18    18    (conduct) Eric Whitacre. Born in the USA on 2 January 1970, Whitacre began studying music at the University     19     Nevada in 1988. He fell in love     20     Mozart’s     21    (classic ) music when he sang for the university choir.     22    (move) by this music, he said, “It was like seeing color for the first time.” He graduated     23     university in 1995, and then     24    (receive) a master’s degree in musical     25    (compose) from the Juilliard School in New York in 1997. Over the next 10 years, Whitacre’s     26    (origin) compositions began to become quite popular     27     choirs and singers. This led to the     28    (create) of the virtual choir.

In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl     29     was singing one of his works.     30    (inspire), he asked his fans to make videos,     31     he then joined together into one     32    (perform). His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 185     33    (singer) from 12 different countries. It has received millions of     34    (view) on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir     35    (become) a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre’s next effort was the Virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF,     36     was first seen on stage on 23 July 2014in the UK. Altogether, 2, 292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre’s song “What If”.

The virtual choir is a     37    (wonder ) way for people around the world     38    (sing) with one voice and thus make the world a better place.