An Easter Well Spent

Photo Credit: Kathryn Sparks

Greetings readers,

Just coming off of the high of singing Bach's St. John's Passion with Pro Coro on Good Friday. My, it was a gorgeous performance. It was due in part to the hypnotic tenor, Derek Chester, who was so good that I was actually missing my entries during the dress rehearsal because I was caught up in listening to him. Something that usually doesn't happen to me! It was the first time I got to hear him sing all of his Evangelist parts so I was thoroughly entranced by his voice, as I hinted to in a previous entry. His diction had such resonant clarity and the German came off the page as lively and expressive throughout the entire piece.

In addition to singing some absolutely beautiful choruses, I got to listen to so many fantastic soloists make their way through the piece. The unique thing is that most of the other soloists came from the Pro Coro choir. The whole performance just whipped past for me and I couldn't believe it was the end when it arrived. It was definitely a performance where I lost track of time. One of my most memorable pieces was the second last chorus: "Ruht Wohl Ihr Heiligen Gebeine." There is just something about the sound of the singing string melody that is goosebump-inducing and resonates to my very core. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but if I felt like I was crying inside because it was so beautiful. Maybe I should explain myself further---I'm more of a covert emotional person.

After the performance, there was a reception to bid farewell to Richard Sparks who has been the artistic director for Pro Coro for the last 10 years. I was thankful that our years overlapped and that I had the opportunity to work with him, this being his final year and my first in Pro Coro.

It was definitely a busy year with Pro Coro, there was a moment during the performance where I thought back to where I was one year ago: scrambling to learn a Bach aria and arranging the details to make an audition recording to submit to Pro Coro. Here I am one year later, where I have somehow managed to sing every concert in the season! One year can bring about so much change! I'm glad that Richard allowed me the opportunity to sing this season. It was great having the chance to sing such a diverse range of music, improve my sight-reading, and increase my confidence as a performing musician.

Also, thanks to my blog readers who have been reading along in my choral journey. In saying that, I hope you all have a lovely Easter!