LKF # 3

Another little Known Fact: I was in choir for 9 years. Grades 4 though 12, I spent every Monday afternoon in a school gym or music room, singing with my peers. Latin, German, English, even African sometimes. I loved it and it became such a huge part of me.

(Sidebar: mom has recently begun dubbing old family home videos onto DVD. Even at the age of six, I was in front of the camera, singing songs…making them up if I didn’t know the words.)

I was lucky enough to do some amazing things while being part of such an amazing group.

Probably the most exciting thing that I was part of was in Grade Four when me, my older sister and 23 of our choir mates, were cast in the Broadway production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

We held private auditions in our choir, as only 25 kids could compete and then we headed to a city wide completion to narrow it down to two choirs, 50 kids in all.

We spent all that summer rehearsing: learning all the songs and dances. They were grueling days for kids that young, but the memories will stay with me forever. We started performances in late summer, one every night and two shows on Sundays. It was my first paying job too, as we were each making $50 a week…big money for little kids!

Choir also took us to Vancouver for a Canada Sings showcase, and more locally around the province when the choir Associations’ anniversary came up. We competed in festivals, and sang at Sunday morning church services. We sang at seniors homes and greenhouses at Christmas…anywhere they would have us, we would bring the music.

This blog post idea came into my head because I am delighted to have found choir in my life again.

The woman who conducted our choir when I was in high school contacted some of her alumni in September and asked if we would be interested in joining a choir again.  The timing was perfect and I was delighted to say yes. I always knew that choir had been a huge part of my life but I didn’t realize how much I had truly missed it until I started singing again.

It also helps that this conductor woman? She is probably one of the greatest, most influential women to have touched my life. She has such a beautiful spirit, an honest personality, and was a huge mentor to the woman that I have become.

So my Monday nights? Well, they are no longer spent in gyms and music rooms but spent in a church, where I yet again gather with my choir mates, to create the magic of harmonies.

Latin…German…even a little bit of African.

Cheers!