What a year it’s been! Every year with en Choir is a great year, new faces and new songs make all the difference, and it’s truly something special to see familiar faces with us, returning each year to lend their voices to the choir.
In many ways, it’s sad to be breaking up for the summer holidays. The end of year concert is always a high point, and it makes you want to just keep going but, as some of you may have noticed, we’re now well into summer, and rest is needed.
So what final notes can we talk about before we spend the next couple of months on the beach?
1. Keep practising!
You’re singing voice is like a muscle, and keeping it honed is important. By now, you should have an understanding of how to warm your voice and keep it working.
It’s easy to fall out of the habit, without Emily to lead you, but you’ve spent a year learning about your voice, and it’s a shame to let things slide while you’re away.
2. Keep drinking water!
I know, I know, we always say this, but by now, you’ve probably come to understand the many benefits hydration has for a singer. We’ve probably mentioned drinking water in half of our blog posts, so if ever there’s only one lesson that land with you, we hope it’s this.
As we’re guessing many of you will be spending your summer holidays in the sun, catching a tan or visiting the pub for a nice, relaxing pint in the garden, drinking water becomes even more important.
3. Keep your ears open!
en Choir is a wonderful platform for appreciating new music but it’d be impossible to cover every single song worth covering.
As you walk about, keep your ears peeled for new music, even if it’s not the kind you would normally listen to. Try to apply what you’ve learned to appreciate what the singer is doing.
Some of you may even remember an older article of ours where we talked about the benefits of listening to music recorded in other languages (it helps the brain multitask), or perhaps you’ve become fascinated by one of extended vocal techniques we’ve discussed and you’re hoping to catch them out in the wild.
4. Follow our fearless leader!
Emily, our choirmaster extraordinaire, also has a busy career as an artist. While the resat of us are taking the time to relax, Emily is no doubt cooking up something new and exciting.
Regular readers will remember she won a British Composer Award for her work at Folkestone Triennial, while others might have seen her installation at Ramsgate Harbour’s Sailor’s Church as part of Ramsgate Festival of Sound.
Whatever else she has planned, it’s bound to be exciting and we can’t wait.
And so, we come to the end of another year of en Choir, but never fear, we will be back in the new term, starting September 11th. Until then keep singing, and we look forward to seeing all our friends again, as well as new faces and voices.