Looking Forward to Choir

I have been listening to the CD of our church choir's performance of John Rutter's "Requiem" on Good Friday at least every other day. I find it soothing. I also feel good about how great the choir and the ensemble of instruments sounded. We actually pulled it off, and I can't wait to find out what our choir director has in store for us when she gets back from her sabbatical. If you knew how incapable the men of the choir are, yours truly included, you'd understand how surprised I was that we performed so well. We must have been inspired by the Spirit.

My only quibble with the performance of the tenors is that we ought to have taken it up a notch. We were so outnumbered by the basses and the women that our part was sometimes less well balanced than it ought to have been. There's only the three of us, so it's a challenge. Where the tenors were featured, though, we really nailed it. Our voices blended into one, and you really can't hear any of the individual singers among us. Our extra section practices paid off, and I aim to promote having more section work.

I have decided to get really into choir this coming season and to try to excel as a singer and choir member. I aim to take my music home and practice it on my own every week. I may even get a wee keyboard of some kind to help me. I resolve to work on my issues with rhythm and to get the beat down better than ever. I will actually read a book on music theory and refresh my pitiably small store of knowledge in that area. I may even take some voice lessons to help me with my breathing issues (COPD necessitates cheats).

I aim to be a model to the other men about listening to the choir director and following her and the conductor. I want to have the music down enough so that I can spend less time looking at the score and more time following the conductor or other cues. I resolve to take notes on the music when I practice on my own and ask the choir director for help with specific problems that I encounter.

I want my participation in choir to be a truly meaningful gift to the church and its mission. If I'm going to count singing in the choir as my principal contribution to the church, I really can't just phone it in. Not that I have been, mind you. I've been pretty consistent in attendance and assiduous at practicing. I just aim to be better, and if God wills it I will be.