“What is this?” My youngest granddaughter tapped a folder in my bag. “My music,” I replied to Myah. We pulled out the binder and I opened it. “Sing something, Clop,” Myah asked of me. I chose one of the Post-it notes that I used to mark the songs and began to sing. “Sing number 9,” Myah interrupted, and I sang a few notes, which also failed to engage her. I continued to prepare for choir practice, and she went onto YouTube.
The Editor and the Creative Director of this publication alerted me to the possibility of joining a community choir. Both are long-suffering ear-witnesses to my outbursts of song, and probably figured that I needed a more structured outlet for my singing. Dr. Webb Parker, founding artistic and executive director of the Irvington Arts Collective, had placed ads in the Weekly View, calling for participation in “Harmony Collected,” a community choir based at the Irvington Presbyterian Church, where Parker is also the Director of Music. I packed my bag, hied myself to the church, and entered a world of song.
When I was a student at Indiana University Southeast, I had a brief association with the school’s choir. I wrote a poem about the experience, the theme being that I can sing music, but I cannot read it. When I reported for duty at the Irvington Presbyterian Church, I found that the choir members would have sheets of music to decipher; I gulped down my panic and waded into the choir. It was not long before I told Webb that I felt inadequate: “I can’t read music.” He reassured me, saying that many others in the choir were also, unable to read music. So, I kept my tenor voice tuned. Webb has the singers gather in groups according to their singing voices: Alto, soprano, tenor, and bass. I made sure that I was seated beside another tenor who could decipher the symbols on the page. When his voice went up, mine did, also; when it plunged, I followed. At one rehearsal, Webb directed us to intermingle as we sang a song; without my guide-singer, I ended up singing the same part as the sopranos. But still: I soldier on. Webb is encouraging and inclusive, and there are enough “readers” to mask my confusion.
On May 19th at 4 p.m., Harmony Collected is going to give a picnic concert in the parking lot of the Irvington Presbyterian Church. The public is invited to come to 55 Johnson Avenue with chairs, blankets, non-alcoholic drinks, and snacks, to listen to more than 30 singers present the results of five months of rehearsals, a collaboration with the Indianapolis Women’s Choir and a performance in the Lea Morris Community Concert.
So, come to the music to see one pair of Webb Parker’s 52 pairs of spectacular shoes, hear what Webb has assembled, what the pianist, DJ Smith has accompanied. Hear Erica’s soaring soprano, Amber’s solo, Gary’s soul shaking bass, Jenni’s alto colorations, and Jason and Jim’s tenor guidance. I will sing along as they deliver “True Colors,” and “For Everyone Born;” Myah’s number 9 is “Be The Light.” She and her mother have shirts that students and employees of the Irvington Community Schools wear, with the words “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Harmony Collected will sing that “Be The Change,” and perhaps, seek input from the audience. We will also sing “Come To The Music,” and you will have the opportunity to see me pass out after having failed to take a breath before that last long note:
“Come……………..!”
Come to the music.
cjon3acd@att.net