TED 2012 Excitement Builds

I agreed to be a "Speaker Host" at TED this year, which means that I have responsibility for making one of the speaker/performers feel especially welcome and comfortable in Long Beach during the 5 day TED experience. I am supposed to make introductions, meet up with my speaker ahead of social events if they would like that, just in general show them the ropes.  The Speaker Hosts are selected from among veteran TEDsters who are "connectors by nature" and willing to make an extra effort to put the speaker in touch (somehow) with people there they would like to meet. (This last activity is interesting to me, since I find it difficult to get in touch with people I want to meet myself...it is a big crowd and there is only so much texting that works in groups like this.

I just got my assignment and it is a young woman named Knoelle Higginson who, with her mother Vy Higgensen, is a force behind the Gospel for Teens program run by The Mama Foundation for the Arts.  They've built the School of Gospel, Jazz and R&B Arts into a respected and influential program for teens between 13 and 19.

I had not known of the Mama Foundation  of the Gospel for Teens program but a quick Google search ensures that once again the folks at TED who do the magic of bringing groups with real Wow! power to the TED audience made no mistake in this one.  I'm certain the place will rock literally when the Gospel for Teens kids let loose.  And, lucky me, I'll get to know Knoelle in the process and she sounds like an inspiration all by herself.

The last time a musical aspect of TED brought me to tears was watching Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Venezuelan orchestra composed of kids from the barrio of Caracas and elsewhere...all built by El Sistema, Venezuela's program of social up life through classical music.

Somehow I have a feeling the Gospel for Teens folks are going to be similarly amazing.  Stay tuned.