“We cry a little every day, we laugh a little every day and we sing a little every day, that gets us through…”

One of our previous choir members said this at our season-end party, it resonated with me and brought a lump to my throat.  It’s true, lately I’ve had such a bumpy road with regards to my personal life, we have, as a family, had a lot of trials, deaths and sicknesses and I won’t lie, it’s been a hard few months for us all.  It still is hard.

That said, I have my family, I have my friends and I have music.  (I can guarantee this post will make me cry at some point!)

I’m sad.

We have now said our ‘final’ goodbye to our music director at the United Nations Association International choir.  As many of you know, I’ve been a member of this choir for about a year and a half now thanks to a fellow SSA friend who recruited me to sing just before she moved back Australia.

I could gush all night about this man, and for many of you, you won’t understand the change he’s made in my life.  I tell people that he brought something back in to my life, that I never realized was missing.  He had faith in me, when I’d lost all faith in myself and he encouraged me to challenge myself, to push myself and to strive to be better.

How can a choir and conductor, add such enrichment and joy to your life? I can’t explain it, it definitely has a lot to do with the people.  I tried to join a choir in Belfast before we moved to Houston and it was nothing like my choir here, the conductor didn’t take any particular interest in me, he auditioned me and that was it.

With Phillip it was different, he asked me about my interest in music, he asked why I stopped singing and he pushed me ever so slightly out of my comfort zone, (making me a soprano when I’ve only ever been an alto) – something I was heart-scared of at the time, but now when I hear myself sing notes I’d only ever listened to with jealous-ears before and I’m so very glad he did.

From our weekly pre-rehearsal dinners with a small selection of choir members, to the exhausting rehearsals every week, I’ve loved working with Phillip, his energy is infectious and he has total faith in his singers – he knows how to bring out the best in everybody, all of the time.

Phillip made a speech at our end of season ‘cast party’, to mark the end of our season, and he mentioned the friendships created within the choir, that we all have such a strong and real bond of friendship and he’s right.

There’s a magic among my choir friends, it really gives me a buzz to be surrounded by fellow musicians and create the music we create.  As a community, non-professional choir, we really are good and I am so proud of our accomplishments.

This past Saturday was another of the aforementioned accomplishments, our annual ‘holiday concert’ (see about last year’s concert, here).  This year, instead of having it in a church, we ‘upgraded’ to the Hobby Center, and instead of one performance, we had two.  Not only that, but we also collaborated with a local school, the KIPP Sharp singers.

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program (Sponsored by Mattress Mac from Gallery Furniture), is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in under-served communities for success in college and in life.

It was a magical concert and really helped us all get in the Christmas spirit, the hall wasn’t as full as we’d have liked it to be (for both performances) but the excitement was infectious and the feedback has been great.  We sang well, we weren’t perfect, but that’s something we aspire to, rather than expect.

I’m not sure if it’s because we have had an influx of new blood over the summer, or if it’s cause I’ve settled in to a more comfortable groove with the gang, but I’m definitely in my element.  I just hope that with Phillip leaving, it won’t change the dynamic of the choir too much – they are definitely what we refer to as, ‘good people’.

Our new singing season starts next week, we have a performance of the national anthem on January 5th at the Toyota Center for the Houston Aeros, then a meet and greet with our new choral director and the following week, rehearsals start.  I’m excited to sing again and see all my singing friends!