Chorus members strive for high quality performances
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 09:37 a.m., April 26, 2008
Updated 09:37 a.m., April 26, 2008
One of the many things Terry Barham loves about directing the ESU Community Chorus is that, as he puts it, “it’s not a social club.”
Where many community activities are little more than an excuse to see friends and yak nonstop, the choir is serious about putting on a singing display that people will enjoy.
“It’s not (a group) where you come and smile and go, ‘Oh boy, it sure is nice,’” Barham said. “We work on finesse, we work on involvement, we work on tone quality, we work on good diction so people understand. And I truly enjoy working with these people.”
The group will display the results of its attention to detail when it performs at 3 p.m. May 4, at the First Methodist Church, Ninth Avenue and Merchant Street.
The choir performed at First United Methodist Church in Madison on Thursday night. Their current program includes tunes from three popular musicals: “My Fair Lady,” “Paint Your Wagon” and “Camelot.”
Naturally, along with the hard work, there are plenty of smiles and laughs when the approximately 70-piece chorus rehearses.
The group’s rehearsal last Monday in Beach Hall, its last before the Madison concert, displayed the mixture of seriousness and fun that Barham is looking for.
In between occasional jokes, he offered constructive criticism and performance motivational tools such as urging the choir to “Sing from the heart, not just the vocal cords” and telling them to envision an audience of 10,000 people on the floor below them.
“Now, don’t look so much down at your music,” Barham told the choir. “We’ve got this huge audience.”
Barham said it’s a real privilege to conduct the chorus because he’s working with people who are willing to come in and give effort, rather than professionals who show up with a bad attitude. He said his singers don’t make a habit of skipping multiple rehearsals.
“People kind of know you really need to be here, and we work for a high-level product, so to speak,” he said. “And I think that’s a good thing. We never should underestimate the capacity and the desire for people to work at high levels of artistic output.”
And even if the group isn’t a social club, the singers still make friends. Only about a third of the chorus is made up of students, and Barham likes how the group blends the younger and the older.
Kathy Tidwell has been a member of the choir off and on for about five years.
She said she enjoys the opportunity to socialize and to perform different tunes than she usually does when she sings on her own.
“We do everything from classical to folk,” she said, “and that’s what I enjoy, is the wide repertoire.”
For Barham, directing the chorus isn’t just fun and rewarding — it’s also revitalizing.
“I can be kind of really tired and come here, and geez, I’m awake as soon as we start,” he said. “It’s not like teaching some boring long-term lecture. We really rehearse, work hard, and I feel that audiences like hearing us.”
Tiffany Budke accompanies the chorus on piano. Tickets to the May 4 show are $5, $4 for seniors and students.