Cantate, Final Bows

A blazing six weeks later, Cantate concluded its fall season this weekend with two concerts. Now I can go back to dairy products and cigarettes! We recorded Sunday's concert, so at some point I should have clips if anyone's curious.

The concerts went well, though there were a few minor hiccups that I doubt the audience noticed. In the Barber, one of the alto entrances that we've struggled with was weak. I also caught myself singing a whole step off for a measure during "A Boy and a Girl." And let's just say that the Ives featured a little bit of free jazz modulation; I'm pretty sure we had shifted keys by the end. No matter, we still came away with uproarious applause from the audience.

(Update) An interesting excerpt from an audience member's email that went out over the listserv: "I heard 'Sleep' - loud and clear - immediately upon the completion of the encore piece. It's a beautiful thing when one leads another to hear the sounds of life. Yet there are no words to describe the power and richness of leading another to hear the precious, complex sounds of the silences of life."

Undoubtedly, I've improved and learned a lot about how to be a better singer. It's one thing to go to a karaoke party, and belt out Mariah Carey. It's quite another to sing in an ensemble, with people singing in half-steps above you, or to sing clearly and sweetly without vibrato, which is all too often used to cloud tones. I can eyeball intervals and sing them without breaking a sweat, and I've come to believe that the true test of a vocalist is not how well you can sing loudly, but how controlled you can sing quietly.

Having never joined a church or country club or the like, it's neat to be a part of a community group. The ages of members run the gamut from recent college grads to white-haired elder statesmen who have been part of Cantate since its inception. Our professions are myriad; I've met a civil engineer, a first-grade teacher at Cabrini-Green, a musical therapist and a tae kwon do instructor.When we aren't focusing on uniform vowel sounds, you can hear a variety of American, Australian and Southern accents. For the first time, I feel like I belong to an organization that is a true microcosm of society, unlike the insular academic bubble of Cornell or the Fed.

Okay, that's a lie. We are still overwhelmingly white and yuppie, as evidenced by the 3 Kleen Kanteens and 2 Sigg bottles (including my own) that I counted at rehearsal. Furthermore, when our director asked last week if anyone knew whether the Bears had won, none of us had a clue. On the other hand, at least two of us are cyclists and one of us runs marathons. The group also seems to be more religiously devout than average. Perhaps church choirs and Catholic school choirs serve as feeder mechanisms for vocalists? And naturally, we are all more musically-inclined than usual. Some of us sing semi-professionally with other area choirs, like the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Grant Park Chorus, and others have their own bands.

So, I guess that's a wrap for the next few months, until the spring concert gets planned. It's funny to think that I've spent hours with this group of people over the last month, and now we will part ways and perhaps never see each other again. Luckily, there are things like email and Facebook (I was somewhat surprised at how many people have accounts, and it seems to be mostly independent of age). At some point, I will probably go see Emily perform, since she plays at Uncommon Ground fairly often. And Tracy actually works on LaSalle, a mere block away from the Fed, so we can get together for lunch.