Qualifications

How good a singer do you have to be to join our choir?

Ours is not an audition choir; there is no test to pass. You do not have to sing before a panel of judges, a la “American Idol”, in order to be issued a music folder and a choir robe.

There is a spectrum of talent in our choir. Some members are skilled musicians; some play no musical instrument. A few might have perfect pitch, or at least perfect relative pitch; others rely on a starting note from the piano -- and maybe a few subsequent notes – to find their place. Some can sight-read almost anything; others are challenged in that area. Some have big voices; others, more modest ones.

My own situation might illustrate the point. My last formal music training consisted of short-lived piano lessons in first grade. My comfortable singing range is very narrow, in the no-man’s land between baritone and bass. My sight-reading skills are rudimentary. My pitch control is good enough to blend in (I think), but not solo-quality. Yet despite these weaknesses, I was not only welcomed into the choir last year; I have been treated as a valued part of the group.

Tonight we began to settle into our weekly routine, getting familiar with some anthems that will not be sung in church for a few weeks. As he sometimes does, Rick divided the group for part of the session, working with the sopranos and altos while Lynda (our organist/pianist/accompanist) worked with the tenors and basses. We finished by reassembling in the Sanctuary to rehearse Sunday's anthem.