Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others<\/em> by Stacy Horn, who sings in the Choral Society:<\/h2>\n![\"imperfect-harmony-book-cover\"](\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2015\/07\/imperfect-harmony-book-cover.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that all the arts, and especially music, are necessary to a full life,\u201d Ralph Vaughn Williams said. Music will show you what to do with your life.\u201d I\u2019ll take it even further. Music, this choir, in some ways is my life. We all need a way off the couch or the floor; a way to embrace the fall or whatever else life brings. When I joined the choir I was only looking to soothe a broken heart. Instead I found something that invariably transcends every misfortune I\u2019ve faced and makes me happy. Every week, music dependably and effectively silences my roulette wheel of worry and self-doubt, and that is not a small thing. Nor is it the only thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think about who my closest friends are,\u201d my fellow soprano Lucia Rivieccio told me, \u201cthey are all people I\u2019ve met in choir or met through people in choir\u2026just the opportunity to meet so many different kinds of people. It can be a bit of a ragtag group, some people can be really annoying, others I don\u2019t know very well but like very much, and some I just adore. But I wouldn\u2019t want to lose even one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOrdinary human beings can do extraordinary things,\u201d [Choral Society of Grace Church conductor John Maclay] once e-mailed us. \u201cBelief is necessary\u2014not in any one creed or religion, or in religion at all\u2014but belief in yourself and in each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believe. I believe in singing. Like [musician and composer] Brian Eno, I believe in singing with other people. I know it won\u2019t last forever. \u201cThere are people joining the choir now who were born when we first joined,\u201d Barbara pointed out to me once. One by one we will all be replaced. But I hope that like Frits Menschaar, the bass in our choir who was singing right up until the week he died, I will be able to continue singing until the very end. \u201cHow long do you plan to sing with this or other choral groups,\u201d I asked the people in my choir. Nancy Tepper\u2019s simple answer summed it up best. \u201cAs long as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“To me, the choir is really a microcosm of what a community ought to be. People are not worried about status within their social position or their family hierarchy. What they are worried about is all together singing D major,” says John Maclay, music director of the Choral Society at New York City\u2019s Grace Church. More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":26508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6569],"tags":[6865,600,3192],"class_list":["post-26419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videocast","tag-choir","tag-music","tag-new-york","topics-faith-and-spirituality","topics-literature-and-the-arts","faith-christian"],"yoast_head":"\nJuly 17, 2015 ~ Singing in a Chorus | July 17, 2015 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Members of the Choral Society at Grace Church in New York say singing feeds the soul, creates community and brings joy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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