Chamber Ensembles

I tell a lot of people that I do Concert Chorale and Chamber Singers and a lot of them say, "I know you really like music, but isn't that sort of the same thing with some different people?" To that, I respond No, that they are both about singing and music, but they are so different. Singing with so many people in Concert Chorale, I sometimes loose my own voice as I am trying to make sure I am in the center of a note or figuring out what my vowel shape sounds like. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. I try to make my mouth, stomach and throat feel the way I think it should for what I am trying to do and if it is not perfect, it is okay because there are a lot of people and maybe I sound good with all the other people singing as well. Also, if I have a voice crack or something goes horribly wrong while trying to sing a note and I butcher it, the audience would not necessarily hear me because there are so many other people as well. However, this is also a bad thing because you want to be able to hear yourself and critique your vowel sound and breathing and so forth, and if you can't, you do not know what you are doing wrong in order to fix it. Singing with a small amount of people helps you to hear yourself and also your teacher, which can be even more of a help because they most likely know more about what you are doing then you do . I know it is nice to get away from a big sound once in a while and feel the intimacy in the sound of so few people thoughtfully singing together. Just because you do not have the best voice on the planet, of course you can join a chamber ensemble! It gives you the chance to really focus on you[i] and as long as you are willing to work hard and pour yourself into the music, you will succeed more than you could ever have imagined possible.