MTC Week #2 - To Sing and Observe

Jan 12, 2014 - So on Tuesday evening, we met for the first "Chorale" session. (As I mentioned last time, Tuesdays are for Chorale and Thursdays are for Choir School) Chorale was great! I think we were all very anxious to finally start singing and sing we did. We divided into sections, started off with 15 minutes of warm-ups, and then got right into learning the main piece we'll be doing at our upcoming concert - Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughn Williams. Contrary to the title, most of the words are in English so I was happy about that. 


Here's the scoop before continuing with this note. This year is quite a bit different than other years for the Chorale and Choir School. The MTC has decided to do an Easter Concert and part of that concert is performing Handel's "Messiah". Along with that, they plan to record it. AND, Bro. Wilberg has decided to extend the invitation to the Chorale members to be a part of it, even though we haven't "graduated" yet. They won't be able to take everyone, so I'm not sure if I'll be selected or not. But it would be a fun opportunity. Anyway, because of all of that, the Chorale concert is a bit earlier than normal and a bit shorter as well.

After singing Dona Nobis, we started learning one other piece, the name of which eludes me right now, but it was a Bro. Wilberg original which sounded wonderful. Time went by quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to stop and go home. On the way out, one of my fellow choir members made the comment to no one in particular "Wow, I hope this never gets old." I think we all hope that same hope though it is something that I think we'll have to constantly work at. Doing something year after year does, by nature, become routine. But I think if we can remember all the people we're singing for and that there might be someone out there, even in a different country, who hears us and wants to change their life and come closer to Christ---I think that will be the key to keeping it fresh and exciting.

Thursday night we met for Choir School session #2. For the first 40 minutes, we actually went upstairs to watch the choir rehearse for Sunday's performance of Music and the Spoken Word. We were given a two page questionnaire to fill out critiquing the choir and the rehearsal. For example, one of the questions was "How responsive is the ensemble to any conductor instructions and coaching? Do they react quickly? Do they need continual reminders? How noticeable is the difference in sound when the choir responds positively to an instruction or correction? Make some observations."

After that experience, we learned all about BREATHING correctly. You'd think

that we have mastered that by now, but given the fact that us new choir members all come from different music backgrounds, it's important to learn or review. The goal for the next 60 min was "To develop an awareness of and strengthen the muscles involved in the breathing cycle: inhalation and exhalation. Their proper coordination and use results in the energized airflow required for beautiful tone--both individual and collective."  I must say that even though I've been given instruction on breathing in a choir setting, I did learn a lot and have some things to work on.

For the last part, the instructor had us pick up our hymn books and start signing a hymn while she recorded it. Playing it back for us, we all picked out things we needed to work on, and then tried singing it again. Everything from pitch, to breathing, to vowel placement, to dynamics was talked about, and after five recordings, I think we got it! Great exercise to help us listen critically and make necessary adjustments. It comes down to this: because there are so many in the choir, each person really has to police themselves and make corrections/adjustments as necessary so that the overall tone and blend come together correctly.

It's just nice to sing with individuals who love to sing, who are good at it, and who actively make slight corrections to improve when needs be!

Until next time...God be with you!