Connections & Reflections No. 22: BCS alto and long-time member Ruth Sanders reflects on something we are all missing. Below is a photo of Ruth and Gerry from our fall 2019 50th Anniversary Gala, where Ruth was awarded the Sanders Distinguished Service Award in honor of her outstanding service and dedication.
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There is Nothing Like Making Music with a Group of People
One year when my husband was a Writer-in-Residence at Exeter Academy, my small daughter became sandbox friends with a child whose mom sang in a community chorus. When she urged me to come with her to sing, I protested that I had never sung in a choir. I didn’t think of myself as a singer; from 6th grade through high school I played flute and oboe in bands and orchestras, then moved on to other pursuits. Oh, well, doesn’t matter, she said, come anyway. We sang Ives and Brahms, and I was hooked. After that I sought out choruses to join wherever we were living.
I am fortunate to have joined Bloomington Chamber Singers back in the Dark Ages before auditions, and Gerry has been kind enough to allow me to continue singing. I was a soprano for many years, but reluctantly moved to alto one year to help balance the voices. I discovered a new joy in being forced to learn a part that was usually not the melody. Thankfully I have been surrounded by strong altos who keep me focused on the part when I start to drift upwards.
I recently heard from a friend, Bob Finch, who sings in a community chorus on Cape Cod. His reflections on his years of choral singing echoed my feelings so closely that I would like to share some. He mentions, first of all, the physical joy of singing, and that “there is something inherently restorative about the act of singing, something that has to do with breathing deeply and giving voice to deep emotions vicariously. Even on evenings when our energy levels are depleted and we don’t want to go anywhere, we drag ourselves to rehearsals, knowing that by the end of the evening our batteries will be recharged.”
In addition, there is the discipline of singing. “To come together with others in a shared passion, to voluntarily submit oneself to the discipline of the music and the authority of a chosen director, to sacrifice time and effort in order to create something beautiful and lasting is a gift both to oneself and to others.”
There is nothing like the experience of making music with a group of people—creating something together that none of us can do without the others. It is always miraculous to watch this process, the evolution from the first rehearsal when the focus is completely on the notes, to the point where the notes start to make music, to the final performance as the music expands beyond the group.
Once a week for a few hours, I have had the luxury of submerging my identity into that of the group and having someone else tell me exactly what to do. It is, as Bob says, “enormously liberating.”
From time to time I realize that something good has come out of this dreadful pandemic that we are in the midst of. This is one of those good things—this sharing of ourselves at a time when many of us wonder whether we will ever again be able to hug those we love or get close enough to anyone to make a new friend or turn a casual acquaintance into a treasured friend. I am thankful for you all, my friends.
Musical Offering
My favorite music would have to be anything by Bach, though the Brahms Requiem is right up there, too. Considering Matthew Shepard is likely to be one of the defining concerts for the Bloomington Chamber Singers. I was not prepared for the immediacy and power of this music; I am so grateful for the chance to learn it.
I want to share the final movement of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, from a 2009 recording by the Bloomington Chamber Singers.
