Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sixteen years of training

Le 7 avril   As far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed singing. Singing in the car, singing in the shower, singing in the woods. I sang in Greenwood Elementary School’s choir. When Regina started the Children’s Choir at St. Greg’s when I was in 4th or 5th grade, I jumped on the opportunity. With orchestra consuming my allotted music slot at school, I continued in the choir at St. Greg’s – the big-kid, Adult Choir. Even when we tried out different parishes to add some spice to our lives, my father and I both joined the St. Francis choir. And as we all well know, I participated in Glee Club at university. (Thinking it would take up too much time, I did not participate the first year – without music in my life, however, I was suffering. Sophomore year I tried out and thankfully I was accepted.)

Having had such a variety of choirs and such fantastic conductors, I’ve seen my fair share of repertoire. I’ve done Gregorian chant with Brother Kevin at St. Francis, Carmina Burana and all which that entails with Carole Ann at Fairfield, and started out learning beautiful harmonies from Regina when in elementary school. With the conductors demanding both self-expression and precision, I’ve come to appreciate each piece for what it is.

More than that, music is an incredible medium where more than just the significance of the words, the melodies hold so much of the meaning. One can hear a song in Latin or French or Swahili and, not comprehending a single word, enjoy the piece. The music itself is the message.

And then I arrived in Rwanda.

We speak French in the house, go to mass in Kinyarwanda, and prayer in our chapel includes songs in French, Italian, Kinyarwanda, Swahili and on rare occasion, English. Is this some divine test that I was preparing for my entire life? It’s more intense and more exciting that rehearsals, too, because you’re given the page number and you just have to go for it. I’ve been enjoying the challenge and thrill that comes with trying to keep up. In music, it becomes so painless and gratifying to step out of your comfort zone.

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