91热爆

Explore the 91热爆
This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

16 October 2014

Things Go Moo in the Night...


91热爆 91热爆page
Scotland
Island Blogging
Northern Isles

Orkney
Burray & South Ronaldsay
Eday
Flotta
Graemsay
Hoy
North Ronaldsay
Papa Westray
Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre
Sanday
Shapinsay
Stronsay
The Mainland
Westray

Shetland
Bressay
Burra
Fair Isle
Fetlar
Foula
Muckle Roe
Papa Stour
Skerries
The Mainland
Trondra
Unst
Whalsay
Yell

Argyll & Clyde Islands
Western Isles

Contribute
House Rules

From the 91热爆
I.B.H.Q.

Contact Us

St. Magnus Festival Chorus...

So, Erlend and I have joined the chorus...the St. Magnus Festival Chorus!! **GULP** Well, I always say that life is never truly lived until you leap out of your comfort zone. We've done just that ~ and then some!

I trained to be an opera singer in Alaska and did one solo Italian Aria and messed it up with aplomb ~ sang off key because I was scared and because I was freaking about singing off key I totally lost my place halfway through! But I loved it just the same. Anyhoo, I left my training to marry my lovely Erlend and I haven't sung for nearly 2 and a half years... You can imagine the panic as I tried to warm up my rusty voice for the past week! Oddly enough whenever I howled my high notes Brodgar would start running around the house in a panic and Zeb would first run in to check that I was ok and then he'd run away and go hide. That did NOTHING for my confidance HAH!! Oh well. Honesty is the best policy...

We had our first practice last night in this gorgeous kirk in Kirkwall and my handsome farmer is a Tenor and I am a Mezzo-Soprano but there were no sign-up sheets for mezzos. (Uh oh...now what??) I spotted a lady standing with the sign-up sheets and I said to her, "Excuse me? Do you know anything about music?"

"Yes, I do!" she replied cheerfully.

"Oh thank goodness! I'm a mezzo-soprano...where do I go??" I wondered in a half-panic. (Please don't say sopranos Please don't say sopranos...)

"Well...the sopranos go very high, up to a high "A"..." the kind lady told me and I shook my head and waved my hands as if to ward off a devil. "Right." said She. "Why don't you go with the Altos?"

"YES THAT SOUNDS GREAT!" Said I and I dove off to the left and now I'm a mezzo in hiding with the Altos, just the way I like it!

Erlend was off with the Tenors and WOULDN'T you know it, he ended up sitting beside another farmer! These farmers kinda gravitate towards one another even in a big crowd.

So, practice started and I was totally lost. Never before in my life had I seen a score with uh...all the other scores mixed in! To my mortification the Lady to whom I had asked, "Do you know anything about music?" was our chorus director!!!!!! Er... That's just my kind of luck!

Thankfully I was sitting next to someone who had some idea of what was going on. Every two seconds I was asking, "Where are we?!" Suffice it to say, everyone else sounded spectacular and I resembled a howling cat. Halfway through I wanted to cry. At the end of practice both Erlend and I stared at one another with shell-shocked expressions and wondered if we were collectivly insane for thinking we can do this? YOU BET!!

Bwahahahahahahahaaa!

I'm already trying my best to hunt down a voice teacher so he/she can help me master my parts... (Anyone know of anyone in Dounby or Stromness or anyone that makes home visits for lessons?? ARRRG! I wish Orkney had The Yellow Pages...)
Posted on Things Go Moo in the Night... at 09:28

Comments

welcome to the crazy world of being an "alto"in a choir! I've singing since 1999 in a choir and have only ever known scores with other voices on the same sheet; What a member of our choir does is to put the music of each "voice"onto a cd then we can all practise in the comfort of our homes and most of us have a copy in the car to listen to as we drive along and it ready helps! what piece are your choir doing? Last year was one of my favourite pieces"the creation" by hayden-i know it of by heart even the solos,this year is "mass in C"by mozart first concert end of march--help!

carol from over here


I am always amazed at your skills, accomplishments, sheer guts and willingness to take a risk. Wow.

DefineYourTerms from Outside DC, USA


I understand that FC gives voice. Whether he offers lessons in voice, or music reading, I cannot tell. It is, I fear, quite doubtful whether he makes house-calls. His euchemenical goodwill only goes so far, not very far, and no further. The chase, or perhaps the fank, rather than the kirk, is more his thing.

mjc from NM,USA


I'm not sure about being skilled but I'm great at taking risks when I can hide at the center of large crowds... There must have been 100 people there last night!! I just love how artsy and active Orkney is.

Michelle Therese from Croaking high notes...


I am confident I speak for many island bloggers in voicing a high confidence that Orkney, and your husband, are grateful for all the sacrifices you made in coming to the Dounby area. Your contributions - sartorial, vocal, and culinary perhaps - to the cultural life of the island must surely be appreciated ('tis true I write from a few thousand miles away, but even from here I can spot talent and generosity). Alaska, if not the whole US of A, is doubtless poorer for your departure, but I expect Orkney generously welcomes additional talent (though I venture to guess that there is local talent aplenty already). As Elizabeth Bennett said to Mr. Collins: "You are good!"

mjc from NM,USA


Eliza Bennett (who may possibly be regarded as a chip off the old authorial block) had a very sharp sense of observation and a finely honed sense of the ridiculous.

Flying Cat from Jane sans saccharine


No confidence, I am in awe, I joined Shetland Choral Society a year ago and enjoy it immensely, despite having only rudimentary music reading skills, an 'O' level and being a choirboy some one hundred years ago it seems. I was ensconced with the Bass section and try to keep the others on my left as my right ear has ceased to function. This season we are doing Elgar's 'The Music Makers' and it is not easy by any means. I wish you much enjoyment, we are starved of such events in the Northern Isles.

Lerwick Trevor from In awe




This blog is now closed and we are no longer accepting new posts.



About the 91热爆 | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy