Hello!
A few months ago, I did a post about our first semester of singing in a homeschool choir. Ben, Ro, our friend Lillian, and I joined again for the next semester. We worked on Holy Week/Easter songs, preparing for our performances to be around that time.
We had a lot of fun! It was a nice session and I really like the songs our teacher picked out. We practiced once a week for about 3 months, with a few added practices toward the end.
We had planned to sing at two different nursing homes but our teacher was sick on the day we were supposed to go to the first one. So, we just sang at the one, which we went to last year, also.
We did our final performance at the church where we have practices. I think we were their Wednesday night service, which I don’t really like. Sadly, quite a few kids were not able to be there. But it still turned out nice! Our teacher was super excited and kept saying how it would be the kind of performance she had always wanted to do and never did, but that this year she had the right kids and the right songs. It was a very nice performance. We went through Holy Week with our songs. We did “God Bless America” first, and then we processed from the back of the church to the front while humming the tune of “Palm Sunday Processional” by Daniel Greig and Jon Paige, and then sang it. Next, we sang “Come to the Table” by Sidewalk Prophets for Holy Thursday. While holding candles, we sang “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” for Good Friday. Then we sang “Easter Song” by Anne Herring, “What Wondrous Love Is This,” and finished with everyone singing the Easter version of “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” We also had readings throughout and a communal song in the middle.
What’s something you liked about it (and why)? I love when the music really starts coming together and it sounds good, because it’s so rewarding and fun when that happens! Especially in the rounds and harmony for “What Wondrous Love Is This” and “Easter Song” but also for the songs we all sang in unison like “Come to the Table” and “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” There were several beautiful harmonies we did that are just so satisfying when they come together. But it’s also really cool to hear everyone confidently singing the same tune in unison. We did a pretty good job at making those sound, for the most part, like one voice instead of individual voices. There were also times we worked on techniques and making parts of the songs more expressive, louder in some places and softer in other areas. It was so fun and gratifying when we’d do that stuff well, when it would sound good. One of the things our teacher said she liked was how we knew when we did a good job and we’d celebrate it- we’d smile, get excited or clap! And that’s because it is so rewarding when it sounds good. I liked when we felt that as a group, it’s so fun.
I also really liked “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” during the performance. I loved it a lot more than in the practices, it turned out so beautiful, expressive and emotional that night. I especially liked it because I think our teacher was tearing up for it. ❤️
What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? Even though there are parts about it that I like, having younger kids can be challenging at times, like when they’re not paying attention or goofing off with each other. It’s not the younger kids that I don’t like but their behavior sometimes. It’s also not just the younger ones that make mischief. I feel like we could have been a lot more efficient and our songs could have been better had other kids been attentive and also practiced more. And it would have been more fun. My siblings and I practiced a lot and felt pretty confident with the songs. But I get that other kids aren’t as confident singing in general so that could be some of it too. And I don’t know how much many of them practiced, so I shouldn’t assume anything.
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? I think that my biggest takeaway was seeing our teacher’s joy and passion. She is seriously one of the most joyful and passionate people I know, and it is so inspiring and uplifting to be around her and experience her happiness and delight. It’s a beautiful lesson to always be joyful, it’s contagious and so wonderful. And also to be passionate about what you do- to totally geek out about what makes you happy and to encourage others to love that thing as well! She is such an amazing person and we’re so blessed that we’ve gotten to know her!
What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? I’m curious to learn more about joining a choir, especially the one at Holy Name of Jesus, where we go to church. I may have been curious about it before this semester but I’ve probably gotten more curious because it. I see pros and cons of joining but I’d need to learn more. I think it would be pretty fun! I’d mainly be interested in doing the cool harmonies they do, singing the religious songs and also singing with another choir. We’re already a part of our parish community so it would be a familiar vibe.
Thanks for reading!
Lucy