The joy of chorus

* Book I am reading now:- 'The Arrangements of Love' by Timeri N. Murari*
There are many reasons why we write; well many reasons why I write. Sometimes I write to collect my thoughts, sometimes I write to recollect my memories. I write to capture, I write to create, I write to quench my thirst for words, I write to fuel my imagination. This time I am writing to remember. I often think if I ever sit down to write my autobiography (Somewhere along the road), will I be able to document my life honestly? How much of the past will I actually remember? My fear is not much since I have a rather poor memory for a writer. So I write down my memories, casually picking them at random, to help me organize my past.
In school I was in the choir. Not too many schools had a choir back then. But ours was a missionary school and we were lucky to have been instructed by a renowned choir instructor during our last two school years. There was no strict selection procedure but I presume you had to have a minimum singing voice and sense of rhythm. Having learned traditional music for the longest of time, I was willing to try it out. Also I wasn't involved in any other extra-curricular activities (at least not very actively) , and this seemed like a good one.
The first day most of us were a little nervous probably because we didnt have a clear enough idea as to what a 'choir' actually was. The instructor made the primary selection and we started rehearsing. Everyday after class we, the timid bunch, would gather 'round the piano and get acquainted with foreign sounds and notes. After a couple of days of rehearsals the instructors picked out the single voices from the chorus, separated the sopranos from the altos, put the shorter girls in front in front and the taller at the back, sopranos on the left and the altos on the left; and made voice arrangements for the School Anthem. I was an alto chorus and remained in that faithful position till the very last of choir performances.
We were to have a choir uniform as well : a rather graceful and Victorian version of our school uniform. We wore a frilly blouse as opposed to the strict school shirt, flowy silk ankle-length bottle-green skirts instead of the veryday knee-length stiff polyester skirts. Instead of a tie we wore a beautiful green ribbon tied in the form of a bow around our necks.
A choir was established. We practiced religiously, and we grew better by the day. In the final hours of rehearsal before our first public performance, we had become a true choir. OUr lungs filled with air and we sang deeply; we moved to the rhythm of one another's voice and we swayed along left and right in a natural progression. We sang in tune, our individual weaknesses muted by the strength of our collective effort, and our individual strength focusing on blending in with the rest of the choir. The alto complemented the sopranos; we learned the words we learned the tunes. When we came back from rehearsal we hummed the songs in our sub-conscious.
Our choir was a hit from the very first public performance. I believe it was during a graduation ceremony. The sisters liked it very much and so did the audience. That was our take-off point. After that we performed in numerous school functions- another graduation ceremony, assembly, the silver jubilee functions etc. We also courageously ventured performing outside the school auditorium. Among our most notable performances were the ones in the British Council auditorium and Alliance Francaise. We sang as a team with harmony and co-ordination, surrendered to the whims of the mighty piano, we kept in pace with the beat and we were eager to try out more and more new songs.
Some of my personal favourites include: Memory, Go with a song in your heart, Wind beneath my wings, School Anthem etc.
The quality that made our choir outstanding was that all of us sang with out hearts. We loved and enjoyed music, we were dedicated and we were musical! Voila! There w\you have a erciepe for a successful choir!