SoCS: singing

I like to sing.

I have been singing for as long as I can remember. When I started school, we had a music teacher who came once a week to lead music class. Our classroom teacher also played the piano and would sometimes have us sing in the classroom which was combined first through fourth grade. She had been trained at a normal school before there were education colleges in our area and I think that grammar school teachers for young children had to learn piano as part of their program.

When I was in sixth grade, I was old enough to sing in the choir at church. Because it was a small church, the choir only sang at Christmas and for Holy Week. I sang with them until my sophomore year in high school when I became the organist. Then, I was always singing as I played the hymns. It helps your playing because you are more observant of reflecting when breaths should be taken.

In high school in a city about twenty miles from our little town, I got to sing every day! I sang with the mixed chorus and later also with a small girls’ ensemble. I learned to smile, sing, and do a bit of choreography at the same time, a skill that doesn’t seem all that useful but actually is. It makes it easier to convey the emotion of what you are singing to your audience.

When I was at Smith College, singing was a big part of my life. I worked my way through the extensive choral program at the time, starting with Choir Alpha as a first year, College Choir the next year, and my final two years in Glee Club. I also accompanied for two years for Choir Alpha. As an organist who was Catholic, I also frequently played for mass at Helen Hills Hills Chapel. I got married there the month after I graduated.

When we moved to Broome County, NY, I began to sing with the (Binghamton) University Chorus. (Actually, B had already moved and was working out here when we married, so I guess I should have said when I moved.) I sang with them until they unceremoniously disappeared, just prior to the pandemic. I still miss that group, which was a town/gown group, meaning that we had singers both from the university (students/faculty/staff) and from the broader community.

Until 2005, I also did some singing at my church with our Resurrection Choir, which ministered at funerals. It was sometimes difficult but was so important for the family to have us there to represent the parish in their time of grief.

I had thought when University Chorus ended that I would never have another choir gig but, after the pandemic shutdown, I attended a concert with the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton and found out they had openings for sopranos. This was a bit of a shock as choirs usually have more sopranos than they know what to do with but some people had moved away during the pandemic so they had lost some singers. I knew the director because I had sung with him when he directed University Chorus for 25 or so years before he retired and was very happy when he accepted me into Madrigal Choir.

Despite my current health issues, I’ve been continuing to sing with them and hope to as long as I’m able and my voice holds out. I’m lucky that I don’t have a big natural vibrato, which helps my voice to not get as much shake or wobble as some older singers get.

I hope.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “sing.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/05/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-3-2025/

Unknown's avatar

Author: Joanne Corey

Please come visit my eclectic blog, Top of JC's Mind. You can never be sure what you'll find!

14 thoughts on “SoCS: singing”

    1. Singing is a wonderful stress-reliever, even if you only sing for yourself. I know lots of people are told that they “can’t” or “shouldn’t” sing but I think that is bogus. I’ve noticed that even people who think have been told that will naturally sing or hum lullabies to babies, which I think is one of the sweetest things in the world.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. A side step, but organist?? That looks like a complicated instrument to play! Kudos for finding a space where you can continue joyfully singing. May you be able to do it for many years to come💛

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I hope so, Laura!

      The whole organist thing…I started taking piano lessons at seven. When I was eleven or twelve the priest in our church suggested I start studying organ so that I could take over when our then high school aged organist went away to college, so I did. I played for three years at my church and went on to major in music at Smith with organ as my primary instrument. When I moved here, I did further study and some work as an organist before my daughters were born. I went back to some subbing and volunteer work as an organist at my church when the girls were in school, but developed orthopedic problems that essentially ended my ability to play for more than a few minutes. That was years ago now, but I still miss it sometimes.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Amazing the journeys our lives take. I’ve never had an appreciation for organ music — probably because all the churches I attended used a piano as their primary instrument. People who play seem to have a real love for the organ, though, and that’s beautiful.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. It’s becoming more and more difficult to hear a good organ played by a good organist. The instruments are very expensive to buy and maintain, although there are some very good digital models these days. Because many people don’t grow up hearing organ music, they don’t ever consider studying the instrument. I don’t know if there will be a resurgence at some point or if organists will get scarcer and scarcer.

          Like

          Reply

    1. ❤ One of the great things about singing is that it's available without need for equipment and can be done solo or with a group. While it can be challenging for instrumentalists to find a group that suits them, there are choirs almost everywhere.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a reply to JoAnna Cancel reply