Sunday, February 14, 2021

TCATS #371 - The Project, Part 2

Last week I described a virtual recording project that the members of the Tabernacle Choir were invited to participate in. And this week, I want to do a follow-up post just to share a few more thoughts about it.

Since final submissions were due this past Friday, there were a lot of Choir members who worked on their recording over the past few days. Monitoring our Facebook group, it became evident that the trials and travails I personally experienced with this project were not unique. Some posts were comical in nature, the winner being a tie between the following two:

"Was it just me, or did it seem like we were re-auditioning for the Choir this week?"

"Well, I’m fairly certain that if Mack or Ryan listen to my recording I just submitted, a dishonorable discharge is headed my way."

Honorable mention: "After about 20 takes, you just have to say that the horse is dead and move on."

Some posts were just pure "vent" posts and some were pure "relief" posts after having finally submitted their "best of the worst". Some posts described with words and pictures how long it had taken for them to set everything up--particularly getting the lighting just right since we were asked to do it a particular way. Some described the distractions they endured or discovered while recording. Everything from a cat playing with the hem of a dress, to a didn't-realize-it-was-so-loud ticking clock, to lighting setups falling down, to planes flying overhead, to dogs barking, to kids yelling... and the list goes on. 

In the end though, I think one post was able to describe the silver lining in all of this. In essence, it said that this painful solo project helped us all realize that we sound our very best when we are together singing as a choir. It's when we combine ALL of our voices that the "magic" happens and the resulting sound is beautiful, blended, and uplifting. 

So, if it took this project to help us further realize that, then maybe it was worth it after all.


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