A Christmas Choir

For me, singing has always been a small part of my life that has made a big difference in my happiness. I always enjoyed being "forced" to sing in chorus in elementary school, and never quit the musical in middle school even if I was cast as a background character every year. I sing while showering, while cleaning my room, and while dancing to cheesy music at the club. Even if I'm not the best singer in the whole world (I'd say I'm average at best), and even though I haven't dedicated my entire life to singing, I could never not have singing be a part of my life. 

Female Voice Choir is therefore the perfect club for me. 

FVC, for short, is a non-auditioning choir made up of all-female members (though technically open to males as well) that rehearses once per week for two hours at a time. Everyone is super enthusiastic, but not intimidating at all. And rehearsals are not stressful, but we still get through a lot of music. 

Not to mention, our choir-director is the bomb. I've never met anyone more gut-wrenchingly funny than Vaughn. It's a combination of dry humor and spot-on delivery that has me nearly in tears at every rehearsal. Plus, he's Australian, so his accent is funny to begin with! 

Since I enjoyed being in FVC so much from the start, I decided to run for Freshers Rep at the beginning of the semester. While it was kind of a last minute decision, I was really glad that I ran for it- and ended up being voted in! My job isn't so specific- I'm basically an additional voice on committee that represents the first years. However, simply sitting in on committee meetings has taught me a lot about the makings of organizing social events, running bake sales, and putting on concerts.       

The poster used to advertise for our concert. 

This Sunday we had our first concert of the year where we sang a good mix of Christmas carols, classic tunes, and more modern pieces. I loved getting into the Christmas spirit early on since we started rehearsing far before it was socially acceptable to listen to Christmas tunes.  

Now, while I certainly do love a good Christmas carol, my favorite song that we performed, by far, was "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkle. 

I had heard of the song before, yet had never properly listened to it or sung it. But it quickly became one of my most-searched songs on YouTube once we started practicing it. The version we sang was incredibly powerful, and I think the audience was quite impressed. According to my friends, some people sitting behind them were even moved to tears when we sang it.  

We really struggled to fit into three rows- an accomplishment to say the least!

Speaking of friends, I'm glad so many of them came to support me at the concert! Since I don't have any family here, it means the world to me that I had people that care about me sitting in the audience on Sunday. 

Until next semester, choir rehearsals are over. But I can't wait to start up again after New Years and see what more we can do with our lovely female voices!