Singing in the grocery store

A choir singing together can be one of the most powerful and uplifting sounds in the world – something about a group singing in harmony makes the spirit soar!

A choir is a remarkable combination of the collective and individual. Obviously, it is a group enterprise, but at the same time, the group could not achieve the heights to which it aspires without each individual putting in their own concerted effort.  When you hear a choir sing, you are witnessing hundreds of hours of collective practice, but also what the audience may not think of are the hours of work that each individual has been doing!  Each singer might have spent hours plonking their part on a piano, or listening to sound files practicing words in a different language.  A chain is only as strong as its weakest link – and no one wants to be that weak link!

The singers’ families might well know parts of all the songs by heart as their parent sings the second soprano harmony while stirring the soup. Singers have been known to sing their lines in Finnish, Zulu or mediaeval English in grocery lines, while gardening or riding a bike!

Sometimes, apart from regular rehearsal and private practice, Laude singers hold sectionals, or even “shame free rehearsals” where confessions come out – “I know it’s been 6 weeks but I STILL haven’t gotten bar 34!!”  

On concert day, we present a glimmering, united ensemble where all our voices blend to the best of our ability – but there have also been those invisible hours of repeated practice in the privacy of our homes.

Somehow, when we come together in the music we are greater than the sum of our parts and that is the magic of a choir.

 

When the women aren’t singing in the kitchen, you’ve got a sick nation. – Joni Mitchell

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