alumni
& friends 15
SPREADING POSITIVITY WITH MUSIC A FAMILY OF JIMMIES SHARE THEIR TALENTS WITH THE WORLD
A global pandemic can make you have to stop a lot of things. Traveling, shopping, eating out. Thankfully, for Heidi (Tschetter) Olson (’97) and her family, singing isn’t one of them. “Music is such a blessing to me. My whole family— my parents, sister, my husband [Danelle Olson (’97)] and kids—are all musicians. Everyone loves it,” explained Heidi. One day, when Heidi’s daughters, Alaina (Olson) Selzler (’22) and Macy (Olson) Brandt (’23), would normally have choir at UJ, pre-COVID times, they decided to have choir practice at home, just the three of them. “It was a way to cope and keep some normalcy in our lives,” explained Heidi. “‘Soon and Very Soon’ was the first song. But we decided to turn the lyrics into, ‘Soon and very soon, we’ll be out of quarantine.’” Alaina (Olson) Selzler (‘22), Heidi (Tschetter) Olson (‘97), and Macy (Olson) Brandt (’23)
“As my daughters are getting older, they sense the bond that music brings to the family. UJ choir is a huge part of that. Singing in that choir changed my life. Those are the memories that I hold the most dear. The choir, tours, friendship, bonds—and now my kids are getting to experience that.”
—Heidi Olson
The trio thought others would think it was funny. So, they decided to record it and spread a little positivity by posting it to Facebook. It exploded. People Heidi had never met began commenting on it and sharing it. Why was it so popular? “There’s power and positivity in music,” Heidi said. “And not just when the message is positive. You can express your emotions in a deep way. This parody was keeping it light, but there’s more to it. Music keeps us sane. I think we got positive feedback because people are just craving positivity.” Heidi and her family continue to spread joy by recording and sharing music, both in parody form and through worship.
