When I was a freshman in high school I was in a choir class. I absolutely loved to sing. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for the class, the course didn’t require try outs before signing up for the class. Although I can carry a decent note, I am not exactly the world’s best singer and I can hardly read music.
In my defense, I am not the musical one in my family. That’s my step brother. I have always been known as the brain. In choir class, I had the hardest time sight reading music. Sight reading involves being able to sing a song without even hearing the melody. You are expected to be able to know the tune by just reading the sheet music. To this day I have no idea how they do it.
At least everyone else in my group was able to sing well enough to compensate for me. We even went to regionals and managed to score a two. My freshman year was the last year I was in choir. In order to continue, I would have had to try out and sight read by myself. That would have never gone over well.
I wish I had been able to continue, but now I am able to truly appreciate how much work goes into singing in a choir. Recently, I was surfing the web and noticed Musica Sacra with Christopher Purdy features two hours of sacred choir music on Sundays at 8pm on WOSU 89.7. I look forward to tuning in to hear the beautiful sounds of the choir.
-Jessica
The Asian Festival is taking place in Columbus this weekend and coinciding with that event, several performers and musical works from that part of the world will be featured on the next Fretworks, Saturday evening at 7 on Classical 101.
Richard Wagner was born 200 years ago today. He is, of course, one of the greatest opera composers of all time. In the 19th Century, only Giuseppe Verdi, who was also born in 1813, could be considered his equal. The debate over the relative merits of German opera versus Italian opera, as exemplified by these [...]
Today is Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday. He changed the world of music and he changed how we listen, and for how long!
