Animaterrans Speak:
December 15th 2010
For the next several posts, members of Animaterra will write about why they sing, and what Animaterra means to them. Thank you, Laurie, for these thoughts:
My Reasons for Singing
My mother was a very musical person, from a musical family. In fact, she was offered a scholarship to Duke University to study opera. But, being 17 in 1952, marriage to my dad seemed the better choice. So, she postponed higher education to move to Massachusetts and marry my dad and raise a family.
Although my mom never did study music, it was central in her life. She was always singing – when she was washing the kitchen floor, doing the dishes or giving us kids a bath. She sang in the church choir, she sang in the car on the way to visit relatives. And we kids sang along with her – songs like “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley,” “This Land is Your Land” and “If I Had a Hammer.” There were many nights I remember going to sleep listening to the stereo playing Vikki Carr or Engelbert Humperdink.
So, I guess it’s easy to see why music and singing are so important to me. Music evokes wonderful memories of my childhood, and feelings of love for my mother and my family. But, I think singing is more to me than that. It is so fundamental to me, It not only makes me smile, it nourishes my soul.
Some say that prayer and meditation are key ingredients to true contentment. Meditation is defined as being completely focused on the “now” – not thinking about what might have been or what may happen in the future (which is what we spend most of our time thinking about). When I am singing it is the purest form of meditation.
I sing with Animaterra because, quite simply, it feeds my soul. It is a feast of melody and harmony shared by an extraordinary group of women who support each other both while we’re singing and when we’re not. Does music feed your soul? Does it make you happy? Then sing it out!
Laurie Donohue
