If you’ve spent any time around me, you know that I love to sing. It’s such a part of me, that half the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it. If I’m in a good mood, then there’s likely a tune coming out of my mouth (Please share your favorite singing memory of me in the comments!). My husband would add that it’s not just for the joyful times, as I apparently have a specific type of unconscious humming that I do when I’m anxious or annoyed. As stress-reliever of sorts . . . so I guess music is there for me, no matter what my state of mind. :)
I can trace my love of music back to some powerful experiences that took place between 4th and 8th grade. We had moved from Mankato, MN to the Twin Cities in March of my 4th grade year. I was fortunate to land is Mrs. McCue’s class and that spring our class was doing a musical she’d written called Saved By the Bell. It was the highlight of my year and gave me my first taste of performing. That next year, if memory serves me right, Mrs. McCue switched from teaching 4th grade to becoming the school’s music teacher. She was insanely creative and each spring she’d put together an elaborate spring show that we’d perform on the high school stage. She was so encouraging of my singing and gave me several solos and small group opportunities over the next few years.
In 5th grade I joined the children’s choir through the same church that my school was affiliated with (and my Mom taught at–we practically lived there!). That’s where I got to know the dynamic duo of Joe and Karen Sullivan, a 20-something husband and wife team who were both musical phenoms. Joe was the music director for the church, and he ran music on Sundays, including the adult and children’s choir. His wife Karen sang in the choir and was a frequent soloist. In 6th grade I begged my parents to let me take voice lessons from Joe and Karen (Joe would play the piano and Karen would give me vocal direction). My singing improved a lot over my 4 years of lessons as I learned to breath from my diaphragm and refine my pitch. I distinctly remember how powerful Karen’s voice sounded and how I wanted mine to sound just like that. I felt so lucky to get to have 1-on-1 time with them (I thought they were cooler than cool) and they had a huge impact on the person I was becoming.
More exciting opportunities arose in 7th and 8th grade. I had the opportunity to record an album with that same children’s choir for Catholic liturgical composer Tom Conry (most well-known for writing Anthem and Ashes). We did three songs on the album, my favorite of which was Bethlehem, during which I got to sing the descant! Karen also sang in several songs on this album, my favorite of which were The Ancient Fire and The Fire Within the Night. I managed to find the image of the album cover and if you click the on the picture you can even listen to the songs I mentioned!
The success of that recording led to another bigger recording project in 8th grade. I think we did around 25 songs on that one, and get this, I got to record an entire song BY MYSELF. Talk about a big deal for an 8th grader!! Unfortunately, no there’s no online recording of my solo that I know of. But man was that cool.
By the time I started high school, I was steeped in music and decided to make that a core part of my high school years as well. During those four years I performed in nine musicals, did regular choir, jazz choir, and added band into the mix! I also had a new musical hero in my life, my choir director Jeff Haagenson. Joe and Karen had moved on to new endeavors, so I took up my vocal training with him. He was an amazing human and mentored me on both music and life. :)
In College I decided not to pursue music as my major. I viewed music more as a hobby and form of worship rather than a career. After graduation, I moved to the West side of the Twin Cities and found a wonderful new church choir at St. Bart’s Catholic Church. It was a dynamic group of singers and I made good friends and continued growing my skills. I took a bold leap and auditioned to be a cantor (someone who leads the congregation in song). My nerves nearly got the best of me, but I eventually came to enjoy it. I stayed in that group for 3 years before my circumstances changed and I could no longer participate.
When I moved overseas with Nick, I fully intended to find a choir in each place we lived. I was shocked at how hard that turned out to be. I wanted to sing upbeat, contemporary music–either secular or sacred. The Catholic church choirs I explored in our various countries tended to sing more classic hymns and were heavy on the organ. Not my jam. And there were very few expat choirs to be found. I had success briefly in Peru and sang in an Expat choir there for one Christmas concert. Other than that, I struck out.
I’ve been desperate to get back into a choir for awhile now, and one of my top goals while we were in the U.S. was to find a choir that was a good fit for me. I was able to do just that this fall, and will tell you all about it in my next post! I wasn’t expecting to go so deep into my history with music, but it was fun taking a stroll down memory lane and remembering all the musical influences who guided and inspired me at key developmental times in my life. They helped me find my place, grew my confidence, and anchored music as a constant in my life. For that I will forever be grateful!
