the promised announcement

I've spent the past week on twitter saying vague things about auditions and singing and a band, so I suppose I ought to say a little more about it. I promised myself that I would wait until things were settled before I said anything "official" about it, but it looks like the actual settling is a long way off. So here goes:

A few weeks ago I started looking for a new chorus. It's been long enough since I sang regularly and I'm starting to feel the hankering again. I sang at Rob's church for Easter and that reminded me how much I love to sing formally. The last chorus I sang with started out feeling semi-professional, but by the end of the season it felt very amateurish. Maybe I'm spoiled by the stellar choirs I've sung in since high school, but I really want a group of people who are serious about music but have fun making it.

Out of the blue two Tuesdays ago I got an email from Shawn, with whom we sang on the Christmas performance afternoon. Their musical group Kendálin is lacking a lead singer, would I like to audition? Thus began a whirlwind of strange scheduling, phone calls, and joyous singing. So I got the email on Tuesday and then spoke on the phone with Shawn and Tasha on Thursday. After work that Saturday I went to their house (mercifully halfway between work and home) and they fed me dinner and taught me a bunch of their music. And on Sunday afternoon I went to rehearsal with the full group.

They had me arrive late so they could talk some things over with the group, so I got there after the group had been playing for a while and had to insert myself into the space. I was so nervous my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I really hope I sang well, sing I couldn't hear myself over the other instruments. They had me playing the harmonium a bit which allowed me to sit.

Almost immediately afterwards I got an email asking if I would be interested in getting together with another singer to check blending. So Wednesday night after work I bopped back over to Shawn and Tasha's house and sang rounds by Libana, early music, and Balkan music for a while. Today we had another of those sessions, but much, much longer. I was completely pooped by the end, but also invigorated with all the music.

It is so utterly refreshing to sing sing sing! I haven't had quite enough time for homework and alone time in the past two weeks, but oh! the music! It's like teenage Vera has poked me through time to remind me of all this music that I love.

The plan as it currently stands is for me (and the other singer) to sing with the group for the upcoming Salem World Beat concert in June. After that, who knows what will happen? This just means that for the next two months I get to sing amazing music with fabulous musicians. This is going to be great!