Instead of vacationing or relaxing, my mom and I visited schools this year over Spring Break. And I sat in on classes if the school let me. The classes I chose were purely academic. But then at the end of our trip we had an extra day in Washington, so we decided to check out University of Puget Sound. Since the whole thing was last minute, there was no itinerary laid out for me, but there was a tour about to take place. As it so happened, one of the students helping perspectives check in was about to go to her next class. And her next class was choir. I began chit-chatting with her, and she asked me where I’m from, and how big my school is…and what part I sing and what type of choir I’m in. You know, the usual haha. Anyways, she offered to let me tag along, and explained that I could just catch a later tour. I figured that this would probably be my only chance to see a course at this school. And after a week of “break” spent sitting in classrooms, I was totally fine with going to music instead of ANOTHER english class. So I went with the flow. She showed me the locker rooms inside the music department on the way to class, which I’m noting here only because it was cool to see the different sized lockers given out based on a student’s instrument and a definitive non-competitive atmosphere, which can be hard to find in the world of performing arts. Anyways, the choir class was awesome. They let ME sing with them. It was a mixed choir, which was a new experience because I’ve only ever sung with guys for finales and intros. It was the top choir at the school, so naturally the student’s voices were very cohesive with each other. They were not only accurate, but melodious as well. I, of course, had to “sight read” aka not sing the first time through and pick it up by ear and with my basic solfegg skills so that I could do it whenever we made it back. But the girls I was singing next to were super friendly and not at all standoffish. It really felt like a choir I wouldn’t mind being a part of (and I was slightly impressed with myself for ~mostly~ being able to keep up). I thanked the director at the end for letting me sing with his choir, and he was super sweet. Moral of the story for me was that although I had been considering taking choir in college, I definitely am going to now no matter where I end up. The whole thing was just really fun. And since I hadn’t considered myself prepared musically for a more advanced choir, it’s nice to know how that I can do just fine and that I wouldn't be the runt. I will most definitely not major in music, but I will most definitely continue to sing in choir.
It is so cool that you were able to sing with a college choir! You did not really explain much about the class itself other than the people you met, but since I have not been in choir for that long I wonder how similar it was to our class. Bigger probably. I, too, have only been in women’s choir, and have not sung with men at all really, so I can not easily imagine how that actually would be. You said that the people around you were really supportive which is super great. I am definitely very self conscious about my singing especially around people that I do not know, so if I were in your position of having to randomly sing songs that I have not learned in the past, I would be pretty scared. In our choir at PCS, we are all supportive of each other which is very helpful to me in class, but I am glad that others have the same welcoming feel. It is also amazing that you and your mom were in Washington and decided to go to that college then. It is incredible that the student that was on her way to choir asked if you wanted to join her, and the visit to that particular class helped you make a decision to take choir classes in college. It is interesting how all of this was impromptu and it led to such a wonderful outcome! Anyway, that is so serendipitous and truly amazing, but I guess that’s what they say, “everything happens for a reason.”
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ReplyDeleteThis year being my first year in a choir, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to like it. Originally I joined because I had friends in the class but as we progressed farther into the year I realized how much I enjoyed choir and having my friends was just the cherry on top that made me feel safe to express my creativity and looked forward to the class. As I was writing my blog post for this grading period I realized how I wouldn't be here if those same friends hadn't encouraged me to take all the drama classes and participate in the musical and now I want to go into theater arts as my major for college. It is kind of crazy how if you meet the right people they can have such a huge impact on your life be it artistically or academically. For me, especially since January and the Sing for Your Life fundraiser when a few of us were asked up on stage as an act after just playing around with harmony out in the hallway, the previous statement mean so much because if that never happened, we wouldn’t be in the choir room at lunch multiple days of the week learning songs to perform for the next concert and even possibly for future musical events.
ReplyDeleteThis year being my first year in a choir, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to like it. Originally I joined because I had friends in the class but as we progressed farther into the year I realized how much I enjoyed choir and having my friends was just the cherry on top that made me feel safe to express my creativity and looked forward to the class. As I was writing my blog post for this grading period I realized how I wouldn't be here if those same friends hadn't encouraged me to take all the drama classes and participate in the musical and now I want to go into theater arts as my major for college. It is kind of crazy how if you meet the right people they can have such a huge impact on your life be it artistically or academically. For me, especially since January and the Sing for Your Life fundraiser when a few of us were asked up on stage as an act after just playing around with harmony out in the hallway, the previous statement mean so much because if that never happened, we wouldn’t be in the choir room at lunch multiple days of the week learning songs to perform for the next concert and even possibly for future musical events.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that they let you sing with them!! I also sat in on a few classes, and it definitely makes a difference when the students are friendly and welcoming. How was the professor? Was it sort of like our classes or is it more formal? I've always wondered how choir works at bigger schools; whether they're divided by type of music, composer, or if it's just random. I do think Ms. Hughes has prepared us really well to be able to go in and probably keep up with almost anything. I think it is really important to sit in on classes when you visit colleges. It gives you a feel for the school, what the students are like, and the professors, things like that. Definitely good to know you can keep up with an advanced choir - it's so motivating.
ReplyDeleteThe professor was really friendly, and kinda funny. He was mellow but had high expectations. During warmup he pointed to a student and was like "sing la" and the kid had to sing the la of the key they were doing the exercise in. The kid got it right and all the kids and the professor laughed and clapped their hands, but not in a performance-strict way. It was all really chill. The class didn't feel formal at all. It kinda felt like my AP Lang class last year, or like AP Bio. Relaxed director/environment but high expectations for the students' performance. At this school, there were a few different choirs distinguished by skill. The one I visited was the highest tier, and required auditions to be in it. The other ones didn't require auditions though, and some were inclusive of staff (a little like community choir). Sorry it took me until this year to respond Sadie, and you're not even taking choir anymore so you won't even see this haha
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