An Embarrassing Easter Moment

Happy Easter Blog Readers!

I was reminiscing about my past Easter choral experiences and a memory back from my junior high days surfaced where I remembered I performed a portion of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion with my Intermediate choir. It was with the Richard Eaton Singers (RES) and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. It was my first experience performing a mass choral work with full adult choir and orchestra. It was also my first test of choral stamina. I remember how still I had to sit on stage, making sure not to drop my binder as I waited for patiently for the soloists to finish singing their sections, and for my standing cue to arrive. The details of the performance are hazy now in my mind but I remember recognizing my band conductor in RES during a rehearsal. He waved enthusiastically at me, as I took my seat in the small rehearsal room at the Fine Arts Building on campus, and I gave him a shy smile as I sat down. I felt slightly embarrassed to see my teacher in a non-school related atmosphere but I was also excited to be apart of a larger choral community. Secretly, I felt privileged and even cool to a certain degree to be participating in the production. Not only was I among the chosen choristers to participate, I got to sing in German! That in itself was pretty cool for my 13-year-old self :)

However, the next day, I didn't feel so cool. My band conductor, excited at the fact that two band members were singing with him, decided to broadcast the information to the entire junior high. Every morning at school we would begin with announcements which were video broadcast live from the vice-principal's office to television sets situated in all of the homerooms. Normally, the announcements would just include information about upcoming fundraisers and events that would be occurring, but on that particular day I was invited, along with my fellow chorister, to be interviewed on-air by our band conductor. I realize that his intentions were to simply promote our extra-curricular passions, but my friend and I saw it as a form of social suicide. She refused to say a word on the live broadcast while I attempted to describe what the St. Matthew's Passion was to my pre-teen peers and how I was finding the experience. I don't even remember what I said anymore, but I do remember that I mentioned that it was sung in German, as if that small fact would be redemption enough for my nerdy extracurricular interests. You will be happy to know that I suffered no major consequences from said interview. I was already the only flute player in the Grade 8 band (at a time when the frenzy of the American Pie movie was at its peak) and deep down, I really could care less about what they all thought. I was happy to wear my geeky music badge loud and proud!

Anyway, I hope you are all well and enjoyed your Easter! And to celebrate here's the opening to Bach's St. Matthew's Passion! You can hear the children's choir part emerge around 2:25 on the video.