I think I have written about our aptly named choir before but had a few thoughts to add to my previous blog. There were very few men there today so Noel, our director, does his best to sing with the men and accompany us and direct us with his head movements. That is no small feat.
I don’t usually make suggestions to Jim but afterwards I mentioned that the men just need to sing out more—even if they are not singing perfectly. I remember our church choir director in South Bend telling us to “sin boldly” when singing. I guess if he could hear our errors, he could help us correct them.
Jim told me that today he had actually told himself to try to do so—to sing out. Jim can read the music pretty well and can carry the parts but he does not have a strong voice. I don’t either, but I do sing with some confidence. Jim told me that a new choir member today thanked him for sitting next to him and said it was good to have someone there who could sing! Yes! Jim still has some stinging memories of our high school choir director who asked him if he “was kidding, of course” when he sang a scale. That same gentleman was my first organ teacher and after practicing a piece all week, he asked me if I was “sight-reading.”
I told Jim he looked like one of the younger fellas in the group. He may be or not but we are not the oldest ones there. I often don’t really feel like going but am always happy I have gone. Noel once quoted another very aged choir member who said “I don’t sing because I am happy; I am happy because I sing.”
It’s not just the singing but also the mental effort of concentrating on something for an hour. And maybe the physical effort of breathing and sustaining sound. It’s good for both of us and I am thankful our church sponsors this group and pays a director to lead us. And our director is a gem—a good teacher who asks for results but also is accepting of our limitations.
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