“I get serenaded today, do I?” my co-workers often ask.
It’s a bit of a running gag up in the Design House that I’m usually singing something and not even aware of it.
Each of us at Dc share music as a commonality. Myself and Dave were both in Newman Sound, Jon’s regularly rocking downtown with Rogues, Greg drops the mic on the reg and Don-E’s got a list of musical side projects as long as my arm.
Even those of us who aren’t musicians are regularly sharing playlists on Spotify, and flipping around new albums that we come across.
Sing, sing a song
Music runs in the blood of this province and was the first thing that made St. John’s feel like home to this New Brunswicker. I joined the choir at the Basilica when I first arrived here and while I wasn’t in the pews every Sunday, I was happy to be in a “choral scene” (choir geeks can be cool, we have scenes). I was even happier to instantly have a team of Nans and Pops looking out for this young whippersnapper, far from home.
Sing out loud
Just like home, where I’d wake up to Nanna’s little song floating to you upstairs, these were untrained, but beautiful voices.
But that never stopped them, their voices still reverberated within that monolith of a structure to create a warm calming sound. They weren’t gunning for Carnegie Hall, this was Wednesday night.
Sing out proud
Did you know that when a group sings together their hearts beat as one? (No really, science!)
Singing – whether in the shower or rocking out in the car – is calming.
Now take it a step further. Foster that feeling, and bring it into your everyday.
That’s the purpose of Growing the Voices and Festival 500; both led by Dr. Susan Knight and Dr. Doug Dunsmore.
Sing for you and for me
Through their work with Festival 500, they’ve dedicated themselves to expanding the pool of vocalists found in this province. Most recently having held a series of workshops teaching people to sing – no really, you can sing too.
Stop saying “No, I really can’t sing, the dog runs under the table.”
Still not convinced, but a little curious? Connect with Festival 500. They have events and a retreat happening in coastal Newfoundland with Dr. Dunsmore this fall. Five days in some of the most picturesque performance venues you could imagine. Carnegie Hall is nothing when you have the ocean all around you.
Just sing
If that seems like a big jump, from shower singing to touring around coastal Newfoundland, keep close to the Festival 500 social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and take the smaller leap from singing in the car to an Everybody Can Sing Workshop.
