bring back the choirs

I'm not much of a reality TV person...sure, I'll watch shows socially with friends, but no reality show out there makes me drop everything and turn on the shiny box sitting in the living room.

But this week, I got hooked. On Clash of the Choirs. Yes, it's true. As a self-proclaimed chorus nerd (hello middle and high school), I have been sucked into this show.

But this is different from other shows. There's no malice or backstabbing or rudeness. Just five groups of people coming together to sing their hearts out and try to win charity money for their city. Each group has their own style, their own personality, and it's great to watch them just have fun on stage. I can feel the energy through the screen; I can't even imagine what it's like live! (For the record, my favorite group is Team Lachey - "Flight of the Bumblebee" knocked me out of my chair.)

And I admit that I've been touched by some of the personal stories that have been shared. Those who have been through tough times, who have been helped through the healing process through music. They've cried...and I confess that I've teared up with them on a few occasions. I just teared up again during Team Rowland's "Survivor."

Singing in a choir like that is a unique experience that nothing else can touch. A group of people working together, practicing together, committed to one thing: singing their best. There's something powerful and moving about voices joining together and creating a sound that no one person can create alone. In choir, we strove to blend, listening to everyone else and matching to where you couldn't distinguish an individual voice. And when you have that moment, when there's nothing else but you and the music and you can feel the rest of the group without even looking...wow. Not much comes close to that feeling.

We live in a world of too many soloists. Individuals trying to promote themselves, push above others, have their single voice be heard, no matter what the cost to others. It's in politics, business, church, essentially every aspect of life. And while soloists can add something special, we've taken it too far. Bring back the choirs. The rich altos with the deep basses, the strong tenors and the sweet sopranos. Every individual voice adding its own flavor, blending with the others to create something bigger than itself. It's more work to pull it all together and create that sound, but wow, is it worth it.