Tonight was a special added rehearsal for the Carthage Choir, in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas Festival.  Once we get into this next week, the afternoon rehearsals are largely devoted to logistics and there’s really very little time available for extensive musical rehearsal.  (The mass rehearsals are during Carthage Choir’s regular rehearsal time-  other ensembles get to have their regular rehearsal times, so they’re not behind the eight ball like Carthage Choir is.)  So tonight’s rehearsal was important and was mandatory, even though technically the students are still on Thanksgiving break until tomorrow, when classes resume.  They are told that this rehearsal matters and that their presence is important and they simply have to be back on campus in time for this rehearsal.

Nineteen members of the choir were absent.

Most of those absences were unexcused absences.

The first Christmas Festival performance is this Friday.

I have just deleted a LONG paragraph in which I poured out a lot of frustration about this evening.  I decided that this blog was not the best place for blowing off steam.  And besides, it would detract from some really positive things worth saying, such as:

  1. *Mr. Noble did such a good job of not allowing his  disappointment about the absence unduly dampen the rehearsal.   It would have been so easy to take out his frustration on those who were there, which of course would have been SO unjust.   He soldiered on, making the best of it.

  2. * It turned out to be quite a fine rehearsal with those who were present (about two thirds of the choir) and it’s actually rather mind-boggling to think of what the group will sound like when those absent singers – some of whom are exceptionally skilled – are up on those risers.

  3. *There were moments of exquisite music-making tonight when certain sections sounded like one voice, in terms of blend and in ensemble. . . and that delicate expressiveness was probably due in part to the group being a bit smaller than normal.  The challenge, of course, will be to retain the wonderful lightness and grace that we heard tonight, but I think they will be able to do that.

  4. *There was a potentially awkward moment when Mr. Noble called for the double quartet in “Lo, how a rose ere blooming” to step forward and I quickly realized that the members of the second quartet had not yet been notified of who they were . . . so I had to quietly point to each of them to let them know that they were the ones. . . and then hope that the eight of them would sing well.  (Obviously, since the notification never went out, the members of the second quartet had not been practicing their music over break.)   And wonder of wonders,  they sang beautifully! ! !   I am sure that this piece will be an unforgettable high point of the concert and despite the fact that it’s the toughest piece on the concert, it was the best thing they sang tonight.  Sometimes it is the tough things that rally our fullest focus and elicit from us our best work.

  5. *For as much as these absences hit me in the solar plexus tonight, I had to admit to feeling some relief that ultimately this is not my responsibility.  I’m just the piano player. But it certainly brought back some memories of the not so distant days when I was an interim director of the Carthage Choir (1999-2001) and suffering through so many sleepless nights.  More often than not,  Kathy would roll over at 2 in the morning and find me lying there on my back, wide awake, eyes open like saucers, staring at the ceiling,  thinking about the choir and whatever issues or concerns were at hand.  There was something about the responsibility that was just a little bigger than I was – and one of the toughest parts of the job was the need to get everyone’s best effort from them.  The million dollar question, of course, is How?

  6. * I think we all walked out of there tonight believing that this will all come together somehow- and that the Carthage Choir will be a stunning part of this weekend’s Christmas Festival.  That’s what counts the most – that those who come will be overwhelmed and uplifted by what they see and hear. Second is that the members of the choir themselves will also be uplifed by the experience.  And in some ways what is most important to me is that this amazing man named Weston Noble, a legend in the choral music world, who has come out of retirement to lead the Carthage Choir, will experience the most profound sort of joy and delight this coming week and weekend.  I want him to be proud of this group of students and pleased with what they have managed to accomplish – and I want him to be happy that he took on this crazy challenge in the first place.