Sing Out Brussels! resumed its activities at the beginning of September. The first two rehearsals were devoted to reconnecting on human and musical levels after a two-month break.
After a two-month summer vacation, it’s back to rehearsals for Sing Out Brussels! members. During the holidays, our annual internal survey showed that singers needed more time to get to know others and connect. The previous season was a busy one with several concerts a whole new repertoire to learn, leaving less time for social activities.
In response, the choir has bolstered its Joy Team (group of volunteers) dedicated to community building. During the first two rehearsals, the team ran a range of activities. On the first evening, we took time to share how our summers had been, before looking back on our favourite memories of the last season in small groups. At the second rehearsal, activities involved reconnecting through songs from our repertoire, a collaborative game and moments of reflection on how the choir has influenced our lives (and vice versa) and around our personal goals in the choir over the coming years.
But we sang too, of course! Our conductor, Emily Allison, led musical improvisation activities and rhythm exercises (rhythm work will be our main priority this season). We also revisited our repertoire, singing our songs in new ways. This pushed us out of our comfort zone, encouraging us to listen to each other and find a group sound. We sang once in a circle with our backs turned, and another time in complete darkness (resulting in a particularly intense, moving performance of Creep and Wall in My Head).
Our work on community will continue throughout the season as we’ll be learning our next repertoire over a year and half. The next few weeks will be focussed on preparing our studio recording, before we welcome new faces to the choir in November.