Sing for Fun

Forming a choir has been a long-awaited project in ZIWA which has now become possible, courtesy of energetic young chairlady Ruth Berry. Every other Wednesday afternoon at Ruth's spacious apartment the sounds of women's voices have been heard for the past few months now. No previous experience is needed, just a love for singing and the ability to hold a tune and be prepared to give it a go.

Newly-wed Ruth told me, "There are 20 members in the group but we usually have 15 turn up. They most definitely don't have to read music." She adds, "I always sing and play the music through in small sections and then the ladies sing it back so that people who can't read the music can pick it up by ear." Ruth has considerable experience: she mentioned, "I've built up a large repertoire of music from the choirs I've run in schools (I've been a secondary school music teacher for 12 years) and I've run two "Peoples Choir" groups over the last 12 years for people who enjoy singing but don't necessarily read music. I also enjoy arranging music for choir myself."

After a short summer break, the group reconvened on the last Wednesday in September. Eight people turned up on this occasion, but normally there are a few more. The sheet music was available for those who wanted to borrow a copy, and without much ado, we were off, to an experimental rendering of two new songs. The Lord is My Song, and the Spanish De Noche. After one or two efforts, the songs came quickly together.
Then the group practised some more familiar tunes such as Rhythm of Life and There's Me from two well known musical shows, Sweet Charity and Starlight Express. The ladies split into soprano and alto voices and the more experienced singers supported the newer members. Ruth played the piano and sang some of the trickier passages. The hour-long session was soon up and date were noted for future Wednesday afternoon meetings.

The group has been invited to perform a few Swiss German carols at the ZIWA Christmas Lunch on 4 December. Ruth said, "I've never been to a ZIWA Christmas lunch so I don't really know what to expect or what they expect from us, but I imagine we'll sing a couple of Swiss carols - and attempt Swiss German! - and maybe something upbeat and modern but on a Christmas theme."
If you think this sounds like fun, give Ruth a call. There is still space for a few more harmonious voices. After just one hour's singing together, I was still humming those tunes several days later!

Report by Julia Newton, 12 October 2009

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