How Can I Keep From Singing

Participating in my high school choir helped make me the person I am today. Choir leveled the playing field of normal high school dynamics - it was the place where the athletes, the nerds, the preps, and the in-betweeners all came together to create beautiful music. I had THE BEST choir director ever. Mr. Stubbs taught us, not only about singing and music, but about being good people, how to work together, to stand up for ourselves and others, and not be afraid to be unique individuals. He cared deeply about his students, and we sang our hearts out to show our love and respect in return

Mr. Stubbs appointed me as choir manager for my junior and senior years. That was the best gift I've ever been given. I learned how to plan, organize, stay cool under pressure, and think outside the box; I learned how to be assertive, yet patient; I learned that the little things often matter more than the big things; I learned how to be proactive instead of reactive; I learned to be successful, you have to first earn trust; I learned that with great power (okay, so it wasn't THAT great, but it felt significant at the time) comes great responsibility; and I learned that being part of a group that loves something just as passionately as you do, is one of the most rewarding things in life. 

My love for choral music has stayed with me throughout my life. There is something so potent, rich, and spine-tingling about voices being woven together in harmony. Even though I'm not part of an organized group anymore, I still take in choral festivals, watch performances on youtube, and singing in entrenched in my everyday life (much to the annoyance of everyone around me, I'm sure!). I really can't (and won't) keep from singing.

Here are a few of my favorite choral pieces. Most of them I sang in choir, but there are a couple that were just too fabulous not to share.