Yesterday, I shared about my anniversary of the first time I played the organ for my first worship service. Today, I want to share a bit about my choral music experiences, specifically around Easter.
I honestly can’t remember a time in my life without singing. Strange as that sounds, it it so true. My dad sang in choirs growing up and when he was in the seminary, he sang in choir there. So he had recordings of many different groups that he would regularly play around the house. And I loved singing. In my church children’s choir, students couldn’t join until they were in 3rd grade. An exception was made for me when I was in 2nd grade. I sang through elementary school, middle school, high school and in college in many choirs, singing for many different events in many different styles.
But Easter is so different. There is a power and beauty when voices join together to sing and retell the story of Jesus’ resurrection. And when you’re singing with others, it is such a high and a joy when the hard work pays off. And in the church choirs I sang in through middle and high school, there were so many pieces that were so joyful and beautiful, not only for the congregation, but for those of us singing them.
After I graduated from college, I stopped singing in choirs for 20 years. Why? It wasn’t because I developed a dislike of singing. It was because I became a choir director and was on the other side of the choir. And I didn’t really make singing for myself a priority along with my directing. But then, in 2018, something changed. An opportunity opened up for my choir to audition for an opportunity to sing in a mass choral event at Carnegie Hall. You can read about that in this post. We made it, and because I couldn’t direct, I had to sing. That weekend showed me that there was something missing. I had missed singing in choir! For a few others along with that, I stepped out of my full-time position and have been focusing in on building my music lesson business, but I’ve also been singing in our church choir again! It’s been so wonderful! The opportunity to get back to something that I have loved so dearly for so long, and missed out on doing has been fantastic!
As you listen to the choirs singing tomorrow, be thankful for the talents given, as well as the work put in by the singers. But even more than that, know that there is joy coming from the singers making that music too!
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