Tonight, at chorus rehearsal, I was surprised to see the risers set up in the country club ballroom where we rehearse. The concerts aren’t for another month, so it seemed too soon for a riser rehearsal. But as the director pointed out, we are taking off the week of Thanksgiving, and that holiday is late this year, the fifth Thursday.
We got to go over some stuff in our seats, then were directed to our riser positions. I am D 13, if that means anything. D means the 4th row, and 13 means the 13th column. Got it? It took me a while to get it. The director is very organized and has 40 years of high school experience, is now retired and does this for fun.
When he took over the aging Blackhawk Chorus, he promised to bring in some of his former students, young people, talented people, fun people. They were the shot in the arm that the chorus needed. Gone with our former director were all those old folks who didn’t want to start over with someone new. I mean, we lost half the chorus, but then the director filled up the spaces with San Ramon High alumni. We are now a tighter group of 96, as opposed to the previous group of 130.
We also do choreography now. At first, we oldies whined about it, but truly, it adds another layer to our performances. My friends are amazed that I can sing and chew gum at the same time. Clapping, swaying, turning, fist pumps, sparkle hands, we do it all. It doesn’t come easy to me, the choreo, but I’m surrounded by younger women who know what to do, so I follow them. The front row shorties have the most trouble because they have no one to watch and must be perfect. Back in the fourth row, I don’t have to be as perfect, which is good.
Put us all in matching outfits and add a string quartet, and voila! We look and sound professional. When I refuse to skip rehearsals to do other things with friends, they look at me sideways and question my loyalty. It’s mandatory, I tell them. I can’t miss.
You know, you don’t have to be in a chorus, they say.
They totally don’t get it. I want this for my brain, because it’s a sober activity in a world of drinking friends, and it’s the chorus experience I didn’t have in either high school or college, and oh, how I regretted my decision to drop out of chorus in 9th grade.
I never thought I’d get a second chance to perform in a large group of talented singers, but I did. Now, in the last year of my sixties, I can see that I won’t be able to do this for another ten years. Maybe another five? Maybe just a couple more? At any rate, I’m not complaining about the choreography. As long as I can still stand up on those risers, I can do it all: swaying, turning, clapping, fist pumps and sparkle hands, whatever that is.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 