Recently, a former student shared their experience in our high school choir on a college application essay. They gave me approval to share their words in my blog. Their words were so incredibly touching. Choir is a place where we can connect and build community with others.
Hummm. The piano plinks as we hum our notes, each section in a different pitch; then, silence. The moment before the music begins to flow from the tuneful lips of the choir members and the delicate piano begins to chime is such a blissful time of peace for me. The moment when my heart is thumping while the wide eyes of the members of the teeming auditorium stare back at us blankly. This is the moment I soak in and adore. The rush I feel before our voices flood the auditorium with exquisite noise consumes me and completely isolates me from the immense room that I occupy.
Suddenly, the voices of the choir symphonize together, and I’m snapped out of my moment and grasped by a larger element. Singing firm, yet fragile, the choir connects as one unit producing a new sound that is an unworldly feeling to me; the audience is given a cohesive vision of our hard work coming together into one beautiful masterpiece. Singing passionately, we power through the beginning phrases. With intense crescendo, we use the technique we’ve learned, that is now second nature to us, to grasp the audience into our entity. The words of the song relay a message that has a different meaning to every listener, but the enticing tune in the background draws them back to the sounds of the choir. The joy on the audience’s faces as they listen to our masterpiece that we’ve crafted means the world to me. As I take in the moment, I feel…enraptured.
Being connected to this group and being able to share my hard work, I feel as though I can be expressive and lively. Singing in a choir captivates me because it’s a way for me to be myself and do something I love, all while enjoying it with others who share the same passion. Singing alone is a hobby, but singing in a choir builds a connection with others that is intimate and exciting.
Choir is a way to experience various cultures through a common language known worldwide: music. In my time in choir, all four years of high school and before, I have learned songs that are written in different languages ranging from Latin, a language that is absent today, to traditional Hebrew text, a religiously based language, to French, a language of love. This experience has inspired me to travel to Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia with choir to experience their culture through, not only music, but by interacting with people who are dissimilar to me. These interactions that I look forward to experiencing will create a new type of connection, united in music, yet deeper and more unique.
Music began as a passion and hobby, but has become a piece of who I am. The connections I have experienced in music have shaped me into a person who is more thirsty for knowledge and has given me new topics of interest to discover in my life. Something as manifest as a hobby has made me grow as a person and captivates me endlessly. Without music, I wouldn’t have the drive I do today; I wouldn’t have that piece of me now that makes me the person I am today.