Concert and rehearsal review
I wanted to experience a church choir a little bit for this assignment. So, when I went back home, I went to church with my parents. I have sung in church choir and have attended many as well, but now that I have a new perspective on conducting, wanted to see what they had to offer.
First of all it was really simple. I noticed that most of the conducting was just straight beat patterns. Every once and a while there was a left hand gesture. This seemed mainly to keep the choir sustained on long notes. I have a feeling this may be due to the lack of musicianship of many people in the choir. However, The beat pattern did keep them together, which is better than stumbling through a piece. This also is good to know in case I have my own church choir some day.
Secondly, the director sang with the choir. Again, maybe this was due to the musicianship, but it was a little weird. They may have needed and extra voice in the choir. Maybe they couldn't read music that well. Whatever it was, I found myself paying attention to the director more than the choir. It was a little distracting to me.
On the positive side, the director never gave in to the choir or the accompanist. I noticed bot the choir and the accompanist dragging a little. She kept her composure and beat pattern the same. Both the choir and the accompanist got back on momentarily. I would imagine this has nothing do do with musicianship. It seems as though we just react to a lot of motions without even knowing.
It was nice to attend a church choir. It seemed similar to a middle school choir or less. I think it would almost be harder at times to conduct a church choir. They seem less responsive. However, they have an equal if not greater passion for music as did the conductor. It was nice to see them really appreciate and enjoy singing; especially after our middle school teaching experience where a lot of the kids looked bored and annoyed.