Foo - Anyone here in a choir?

I've been in choirs on and off since I was a kid, though it was in university that I really came to understand how much fun a choir can be. Now I'm in the midst of preparing for a huge concert later this month up in Beijing, and I'm getting excited... both because the music is just gorgeous (Bach's Mass in B minor), and because we'll be singing with Emma Kirkby :eek:. Any other choir members here? What do you sing?

Tenor here.

Not since 7th grade when I was "forced" into Chorus as my elective. Hated every minute of it.

I was never forced into a choir... that sounds unpleasant. maybe I went to a geeky school, but I remember everyone in 4th grade wanting to be in the choir.

Not since 7th grade when I was "forced" into Chorus as my elective. Hated every minute of it.

I bet you were a load of fun for your teacher too. Choir teachers have it tougher than any other field in my opinion.

btw, "real" musicians play. :p

I bet you were a load of fun for your teacher too. Choir teachers have it tougher than any other field in my opinion. You betcha! :D

She had us all "audition" in class over one week to determine who was going to be in "concert chorus" and who wouldn't be. Everybody was embarrassed because it was going to call for singing solo in front of the entire class.

I volunteered (only one to "volunteer") to go first. I got up there and sang my best voice impersonation of that horrible old version of "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam". I made my voice hit every level off-key I could to make SURE I wasn't chosen for concert chorus.

I bet you were a load of fun for your teacher too. Choir teachers have it tougher than any other field in my opinion.

btw, "real" musicians play. :p

:p

I play the guitar too, but given what other musicians say about guitarists, I'm not sure that helps :D

Hmmmph.

I tried out for it and didn't make it.

I've been in a choir on and off since I was about 13. I usually sing church music (english and spanish) but from time to time I sing current popular songs and songs from the 40s (mainly in spanish). One more thing, I'm a soprano/alto.

In regard to instruments, I used to play a clarinet.

Hmmmph.

I tried out for it and didn't make it.

Feel free to try again. I'm starting a foo woman's choir soon. Auditions are in my shower next week. Wanna try out? :D

I've been in a choir on and off since I was about 13. I usually sing church music (english and spanish) but from time to time I sing current popular songs and songs from the 40s (mainly in spanish). One more thing, I'm a soprano/alto.

In regard to instruments, I used to play a clarinet.

That's cool. Any particular reason for the songs in Spanish from the 40s? I ask because my mom is from Chile, and I grew up listening to some!

I'm in my church's choir. I'm a tenor. I play a little piano too.

That's cool. Any particular reason for the songs in Spanish from the 40s? I ask because my mom is from Chile, and I grew up listening to some!Well, I have maybe 2 or 3 albums from that era that I LOVE to sing to. There is one song in-particular: "Historia De Un Amor " by Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos

Tenor at church.

The last choir I was in was in jr college before I went to real music school.

I'm currently in a chair, and thats only one letter off, so I'm assuming our experiences are similar.

There's a bunch of them in PnR who are.

Are waht... One letter off? :D

My wife and I used to be in a choir. It was fun and demanding.

Bass/baritone in my church choir. I love singing Taize pieces.

I had a fairly good voice until puberty. Now I can only get away with that folky/blues rasp. And yelling. I can yell. Even then, it's usually out of key.

I'm a second bass- never really sang in a choir till 6 years ago (I'm 57), so it was a new experience, although I'm a musician (organ, harpsichord) so it wasn't totally strange.

I lead our church choir (past tense) for a while, sing baritone and teach voice/harmony at school. I have been singing since I had to try out for high school choir in front of the 70 piece concert band.

And by the way, voice is the FIRST instrument, all else is secondary. I do play the Guitar, Mandolin, Recorder and some few others. All are secondary instruments. :)

By the way I am better on the guitar than the voice thing. ;)
Steven

(in my best priestly voice)Led, my son, you led the choir.

No singing in Many years :(:(:(

I was quite involved with the barbershop chorus and quartet scene for many years, loads of fun.

did some gregorian and medeival stuff with a few groups for fun nothing serious.

I then did a few Gilbert and sullivan musicals princess Ida (pit chorus) , gondoliers(pit chorus) and the scorceror (on stage chorus "The masters valet").

when I moved back to Ny I ran into my middle school music teacher and did the barbershop thing again he was the director.

and then life took a turn house, camp , more involved jobs, teaching scuba and doing rescue work no time for singing.

id love to get singing again I think gospell would be a hoot to sing even though im not very religious.

an accapella group would be alot of fun too. Im a baritone if your wondering


and I own a beautiful guitar and dont know how to play it , im trying to sell it.



"John"

No singing in Many years :(:(:(

I was quite involved with the barbershop chorus and quartet scene for many years, loads of fun.

did some gregorian and medeival stuff with a few groups for fun nothing serious.

I then did a few Gilbert and sullivan musicals princess Ida (pit chorus) , gondoliers(pit chorus) and the scorceror (on stage chorus "The masters valet").

when I moved back to Ny I ran into my middle school music teacher and did the barbershop thing again he was the director.

and then life took a turn house, camp , more involved jobs, teaching scuba and doing rescue work no time for singing.

id love to get singing again I think gospell would be a hoot to sing even though im not very religious.

an accapella group would be alot of fun too. Im a baritone if your wondering


and I own a beautiful guitar and dont know how to play it , im trying to sell it.



"John"

What is it?

And by the way, voice is the FIRST instrument

...but still, "real" musicians play. ;)

I've been in choirs on and off since I was a kid, though it was in university that I really came to understand how much fun a choir can be. Now I'm in the midst of preparing for a huge concert later this month up in Beijing, and I'm getting excited... both because the music is just gorgeous (Bach's Mass in B minor), and because we'll be singing with Emma Kirkby :eek:. Any other choir members here? What do you sing?

Tenor here.

I'm in the UMS Choral Union in Ann Arbor, MI. I'm a baritone (baritenor?), always taking the high divisis and getting assigned to double the tenor 2s. We do typically two pieces with the Detroit Symphony each year, always the big choral/orchestral war horses, with several Messiahs to keep up tradition, validate the endowment, and make some money. Several years ago we recorded William Bolcom's "Songs of Innocence and Experience" on Naxos, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. I was one of 500 musicians, you can hear me clearly. It was Gramophone Best Classical and Best Choral that year.

Now 54, I've been in choirs mostly on but sometimes off since I was 7 years old.

In two weeks we're doing the Verdi Requiem with DSO, then Messiah, then the Bach B-minor Mass, then Beethoven's 9th paired with his Elegiacher Gesangen (I think, this one's new to me!).

No solos for me, but in various pieces we've had Isola Jones, Christine Brewer, David Daniels, John Pierce, and John Relyea - all upper-level opera singers.

Road Fan

I bet you were a load of fun for your teacher too. Choir teachers have it tougher than any other field in my opinion.

btw, "real" musicians play. :p

I agree about the choral teachers! I'm married to one, who now kicks my butt on her bike!

Road Fan

I am a tenor and soloist in our church choir. Really, though a rangy baritone ;). I really enjoy it. But would like to do some more rockin' stuff at some point along with singing in the choir.

(in my best priestly voice)Led, my son, you led the choir.


Gah.... I knew that. :(

And voice is still the first instrument, some just don't have an expensive one. :)

And what about that guitar for sale?

Steven

I wish I had a singing voice good enough. I would love to join a choir - seems like so much fun!

What is it?

A 1993 OVATION ELITE limited edition (the 1993 collector piece) it was given to me By kaman (parent company of ovation) as a business gift in 1996 , the electronics are upgraded to the 1996 version.

its accoustic/electric

"John"

It's cool to see the range of music that people are singing... it makes me want to sing more. On occasion, I've thought of dropping everything else and really working on my singing. I don't really have the confidence to sing proper solos yet... need to work on controlling my sound better!

A 1993 OVATION ELITE limited edition (the 1993 collector piece) it was given to me By kaman (parent company of ovation) as a business gift in 1996 , the electronics are upgraded to the 1996 version.

its accoustic/electric

"John"

Keep that a few years. It will be worth a fortune VERY quickly.

Keep that a few years. It will be worth a fortune VERY quickly.

?????????? I dought it. no one interested in it now.

"John"

...but still, "real" musicians play. ;)

So called "real" musicians mostly play instruments that have distinct pitches (strings and percussion of course are the exceptions) - the voice can vary pitch infinitely between notes of a scale - sometimes with disastrous results.!! A singer who can stay on pitch through an extended piece is a very strong and very real musician!

Road Fan

Been in choir from 6th grade up through the end of my (community) college days. If massage school had a choir, I'd have been in that, too.

Now, I'm a karaoke addict.

If I were to get in a choir again, I'd hope to never sing "Gloria" again. Sang that damned mass too many times...ick.

I miss it, though.

Oh. Bass/baritone/2nd tenor before my falsetto kicks in.

So called "real" musicians mostly play instruments that have distinct pitches (strings and percussion of course are the exceptions) - the voice can vary pitch infinitely between notes of a scale - sometimes with disastrous results.!! A singer who can stay on pitch through an extended piece is a very strong and very real musician!

Road Fan

Distinct pitch to a degree of course. I've heard plenty of instrumentalists who don't have an ear. It can be every bit as disastrous as with a vocalist.

HUH ??? please explain, :o:o:o



"John"

Guitars, especially guitars like that, depreciate for a while, then start appreciating again. if you keep that, you will likely get several thousand dollars for it in the near future. In the meantime, you may try playing and love it, and then you have a gorgeous instrument that many people (including myself) would pay a premium for. Worst case scenario, if you sell it, you have some extra coin. Could be a lot of money.

I started singing in choir in Jr. High and haven't stopped. I'm a product of the midwest choral tradition started by F. Melius Christiansen. I sang for his grandson (Erik) in high school.

I was a double major in theatre and music (with a vocal/conducting emphasis) in college. (I'm a network admin now. Go figure) I has the pleasure of singing in one of the best and most respected college choirs in the nation for two years while there and loved every minute of it. Rene' Clausen is the best conductor I've ever sung for.

I currently sing Baritone with a semi-pro choir. We do mostly acapella music. (which is how a choir is meant to be!)

My fav. choral composers:

Eric Whitcre (if you haven't heard 'sleep', you need to), Samuel Barber, F. Melius Christiansen, his son Paul J. Christiansen, Alexandre Gretchaninov, Pavel Tschesnokov, Ken Jennings, Rene' Clausen, Alberto Ginastera, Krystof Penderecki, Knut Nysted, the list goes on and on...

Eric Whitacre, huh? My choir sang his "Cloudburst" a few months ago... it was going swimmingly in rehearsals, but a number of factors including no air conditioning in the recital hall in 30C+ (86F+) weather meant we ended up mostly butchering it in the concert. Fortunately, the audience didn't seem to notice :D.

My choir in university made me particularly fond of composers like Blow, Taverner, Tallis, and Byrd, but I like to try different things. I had a lot of fun earlier in the year when we sang an arrangement of Offenbach pieces for choir and percussion ensemble.


Distinct pitch to a degree of course. I've heard plenty of instrumentalists who don't have an ear. It can be every bit as disastrous as with a vocalist.

<cough>French horn<cough> ;)

A few years back, a lady at church approached me. She told me she thought she had heard the Lord say to her that I should lead the choir. I set her straight, I was pretty sure she misunderstood and that actually the Lord told her that I should leave the choir. I have a voice that makes Leo Kottke sound very good by comparison.

I sing baritone but for years I sang tenor, but now I find baritone so much more fulfilling.

I teach voice in school and this year every girl is an alto, go figure. I used to have my own band and we sang folk mostly but choirs are where you really get to train your voice for blending ( if you are a good choir) I love the old time gospel choirs.....

Pet peeve of singers for me is those women (mostly) that think they need to bend the notes ALL the time. Goodness sake, can't you find a note and stay on it, I didn't think so.

By the way, that Ovation guitar sounds nice but I like a guitar that will stay on my lap. I had a singing partner that played one and they sound nice, really nice. Good guitar..

Steven

Eric Whitacre, huh? My choir sang his "Cloudburst" a few months ago... it was going swimmingly in rehearsals, but a number of factors including no air conditioning in the recital hall in 30C+ (86F+) weather meant we ended up mostly butchering it in the concert. Fortunately, the audience didn't seem to notice :D.

Nice. :) I've only performed Lux Aurumque and Water Night so far of his. Our choir has a couple planned for later this season ('hope, faith, life, love' and 'i thank you God'), though, so I'm surely looking forward to that. He uses tone clusters better than any other composer I've heard.

I agree that the French Horn blows. Pun intended. :)

Had a tough one last night. I commuted that day, which means I have to leave the house at 4:30am. So at 7pm I was tired and by 8:30 I was about dead. The songs we were practicing had the tenors screaming and gasping for air. When I got home I felt like I had been beaten. But for the Glory of God.

Had a tough one last night. I commuted that day, which means I have to leave the house at 4:30am. So at 7pm I was tired and by 8:30 I was about dead. The songs we were practicing had the tenors screaming and gasping for air. When I got home I felt like I had been beaten. But for the Glory of God.

I can identify with that some days. We have a couple Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir books we work through. The arrangers on those books really love to work the tenors hard. Especially if you are not a "real" tenor like me. I can hit the notes, but I'm working hard to do it (and make it sound good) :D.

Heh, I was just complaining to a flautist friend of mine that Bach didn't seem to much like tenors. Then she told me that she's learning a piece (also Bach) that doesn't have a single rest for the flutes in THREE MOVEMENTS. I stopped complaining ;)

John, I understand what you mean about hitting the notes but working hard. I'm not sure if you've had vocal lessons, but I found it made a huge difference. During my audition for my current choir, I somehow hit a glorious high C -- never thought I could do that, but a bit of guidance from a good teacher did wonders! Of course, I haven't hit a high C since then :rolleyes:, but I know that I should be able to do it without tearing up my vocal cords.

I was one of 500 musicians, you can hear me clearly.I'm so sorry for you, that's about the worst thing that can happen to a choir singer! :D


(which is how a choir is meant to be!)+1. A baritone here as well, our choir is a chamber choir. We do a cappella music, often written by contemporary composers.

--J

I can identify with that some days. We have a couple Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir books we work through. The arrangers on those books really love to work the tenors hard. Especially if you are not a "real" tenor like me. I can hit the notes, but I'm working hard to do it (and make it sound good) :D.




YES!! Brooklyn Tab kills me sometimes. I'm second tenor at best but when there are no second tenor parts ...

anyone in front of me gets a hair-raising experience. And a lot of spittle.

:roflmao:

Talk about spittle...

I'm working on a new solo in choir from a book that was mostly written and arranged by our new music director (Michael Neale) when he was directing his last choir (Christ Fellowship). He doesn't direct our choir, but leads worship in the "big room" :D. But I digress...so this song I'm working on is kind of R&B/Bluesy/Soulish...and the vocalist on the CD sounds...well...think of Issac Hayes singing "Shaft" :D. Anyway, lot's of plosives in the song...first couple rows in our Chapel Praise service may be in for a little spray when we do that song :D

We have been working out of the Brooklyn Tab "I'm Amazed" book. I sooooooo wanted to sing solos on "I'm Amazed" and "The Light Of That City". I really love those songs. They got assigned to other folks who did a good job on them. I did get to lead in "Heaven On My Mind" though and sing that duet with an exceptionally talented soprano in our choir. It sounded great and was a joy to do! I would still love to do the solo part in "Gloria" from that book too. We haven't done that one yet and I love the song (but would have to learn the Spanish verses phonetically (which I have done before).

Wow...who knew there were choir weenies and bike weenies all in one site! :D