Would you believe it? I joined a choir.

And not just any choir. The First Presbyterian Church choir, otherwise known as, “Big Blue”.

My wife, the musical half of this family, really wanted to sing in a church choir. She also wanted her spouse to sing with her. That’s where I come in.

Now you have to realize just how big a commitment this really represented. In my top 5 lifetime achievements (running a marathon, climbing Mount Everest, becoming President, winning the Nobel Prize) was singing in a choir in front of a few thousand people. Needless to say, my nerves were a bit rattled.

But Sarah is ever the faithful coach and encourager. And with her help, I made it through the “audition” and was placed with the second tenors. After three weeks of choir practices, we were cleared for our first church appearance.

This morning, I was fitted for my Big Blue robe. Trying on the robe for the first time… I could feel the power coursing through my veins. I was like the choir version of Darth Vader, sans light saber and breathing apparatus. In fact, as I gazed at myself in the men’s changing room, I could hear John Williams’ excellent choral music from The Phantom Menace in my head.

Yeah, it was show time.

And I think I did pretty well. I managed to stay on pitch and avoided any accidental solos. The hardest song we sang today was “Ubi Caritas” 1, an amazingly beautiful Gregorian chant. Have a listen 2

Footnotes

  1. a good translation is found here
  2. no, this is not actually a recording of us!

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6 Comments

  1. I sang in the the New Life choir exactly one time.

    I accidentally did a solo. I don’t think anyone noticed. lol

  2. Oh my word, that’s adorable! Sarah’s got mad skills in the “convince Rob to do stuff” arena! There is no way we would have ever been able to convince you to do that!

  3. I am so glad to see that Sarah is leading you outside your comfort zone. How cool is that!! I would have never guessed you ever singing in a choir. Congrats! And I see you two are going to a different church. When did you start going there?

  4. I won’t be happy until I see a photo of you or Sarah in your “Big Blue” costume, uh… robe!

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