As a long-standing member of Animaterra, I have become accustomed to singing several concerts each year and participating in other performances in the Monadnock Region. For example, we sing at the Keene Pumpkin Festival, the Community Kitchen’s Empty Bowls fund raiser, and the Keene holiday tree lighting celebration. When I joined this lovely group of female singers, I never expected to have the experience of singing in the produce section of a Boston grocery store! Random Acts of Singing, in shopping malls, restaurants, and, yes, even in a “Market Basket” were just part of the fun of an overnight we recently shared as a chorus.
More than twenty participants left early Saturday morning in a convoy headed for Boston. As we traveled, we warmed up our voices with our laughter and sharing, getting acquainted outside of our normal rehearsals. We also practiced the Bulgarian songs which would later be the focus of a 2 hour workshop.
After checking in to the hotel and eating our bag lunches, we were ready to “stage” our first Random Act of Singing. The hotel had a large room with an indoor pool and we practiced by surprising the unsuspecting swimmers. Four strong singers began singing the first line of the song we had chosen. Five or six other women “wandered” over and joined on the second line of the song, followed by another 6 on the third line and the rest of the group on the next. We all finished the song and sang it again a second and third time adding harmonies and another verse. The swimmers stopped mid-stroke and listened. The poolroom’s acoustics made our sound full and resonant. We were all impressed and pleased.
With that one run-through, we were ready to take the show on the road, so we crossed the street to the Market Basket where we agreed to meet surreptitiously in the produce section. Some women took baskets and began “shopping” while others appeared interested in comparing onions and such. As the song began, each line seemed to draw in more women until we were again all finishing with the line, “When every person from every nation, young and old, each generation, joins hands in the name of love, there will be no more war!” The response was wonder, applause, words of thanks, and photos on cell phones. Of course there were some folks who just continued their shopping as though nothing unusual was happening, but no one seemed upset with our performance. And we certainly felt we’d made a statement!
From there we went to our workshop where we tried to make our voices sound Eastern European—not an easy task for these Westerners! Tatiana, a patient and knowledgeable Bulgarian vocalist, worked with us on breathing exercises, lyric pronunciation, tonal quality, and general flow of the songs. I don’t think we’ll be mistaken for Bulgarian singers, but we are certainly a little closer to “authentic” than we were.
The evening was spent in Boston, dining (and singing in the restaurant!) and attending a concert at the Berklee School of Music Performance Center. After an overnight at a Red Roof Inn, we headed for home Sunday stopping for breakfast at Joey’s Diner. The service was so good that we thought we owed them a song, so we shared our song of peace for Joey and all his patrons as we left.
Although each person on the trip had her own favorite part, we all agreed the time was well spent, not only improving our vocal skills, but also sharing a message of peace with others.
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