March 21st, 2007 - Wednesday Soup & Bread, Service and Choir

I was unable to make the soup and bread meal or the Lent service tonight. I attended choir practice.

There were not as many people at the practice tonight due, no doubt, to the upcoming Spring break.

The combination of collective discipline and humor between Kelly as leader and the choir impresses me tonight, as it often does. Kelly knows the sound the choir needs to achieve and communicates the emphasis, pronunciation and clarity of diction in regards to what we are to sing. Kelly can quickly move the choir into an understanding of each piece and an apprehension of the beauty and vision that likely moved the composer when writing the music.

We spent time on each of the pieces we will be performing. Each piece has unique challenges and strengths that become clear with each successive practice.

Certainly my vantage point is skewed towards the bass section since that is where I am singing. I appreciate the strength of Greg’s music reading abilities to reinforce what I read in the music while we are singing. And in each section there are singers whose voices are astounding. I am in awe of how many singers we have in the choir and their collective strength considering the size of the congregation.

The other central pillar for the success of the choir I am now seeing is our performance schedule. Last Sunday’s performance brought clarity and finality, for now, to God is Our Refuge and Strength. The choir showcases statements of faith that are a combination of composition and performance and the listeners. When these musical performance pieces reveal the faith of composer, performer and listener simultaneously there is a worship experience that tugs at the core of the relationship of man and God and reveals another piece of it.