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To sing or not to sing...

A few of my favorite things (to do)

My favorite thing to do is sing. I've been singing almost all my life. I'm told that when I was about four years old my favorite song was "Jose Cuervo", a country song about tequila. I used to sing right along at the top of my little lungs during the chorus. This might sound harmless enough but there's a section that goes "I'd kiss all the cowboys then I'd shoot out the lights then I'd dance on the bar then I'd start a fight." At the time I actually thought it was a man singing instead of an alto. I recently heard the song again and still swear that it's sung by a man!

Besides singing in the car, I sang in Sunday school and grade school music class. I never really thought I had any real talent until I joined Junior High chorus and was complimented by the instructor. Well, that was all the encouragement I needed. I became a dedicated singer from then on. I joined my church choir and continued to sing at school. I participated in many music contests and concerts.
In high school I became a soprano in the choir, but sang alto in madrigals. I always felt a little more comfortable as an alto. All my IMEA appearances were as an alto. I was pretty versatile and sang whatever the teacher wanted me to. I really became a leader in high school, maybe singing loudly and uninhibitedly had something to do with it. I sang in the choir for four years and was awarded the senior choral award. I was also asked to sing a solo for Baccalaureate services. I sang one of my favorites, "El Shaddai."
In 1998 I joined a Christian singing group out of Freeport, Illinois called "The Believers". My church choir director/personal mentor/big sister Cindy Sarver(now Cindy Volkert) invited me to join the group that she had been in for two years already. I was a little reluctant at first, but after attending a couple practices I really enjoyed the music and the message. The group is comprised of about a dozen younger adults and we perform mainly during the summer. We usually give Sunday morning performances in area churches and serve as that mornings service. I'm looking forward to this year's performances. I'm glad I found a way to sing and spread "the word." - note: 1999 was the last year for the Believers. The group officially retired in October.
At Rock Valley I participated in the collegiate choir and the Madrigal choir. I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to New York city in 1999 to perform at Carnegie Hall and to Cincinatti, OH to perform at an American Choral Directors Association conference in 2000 through my participation in RVC's choral department.
At Illinois State I am in the University Choir, along with 120 other students. It is a non-auditioned choir, so the people in it have varying levels of ability. I do miss being a leading singer in my section like I was in high school, church choir, and RVC. I have found the perk of being able to fake singing if I don't feel well and my voice isn't even missed. This fall I'll know a couple more people in choir and that will make it even more fun.

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