Quirky



I’m a musician, and after sitting under countless music directors, I’ve come to the conclusion that most choral directors (myself included) are quirky. The music we try to create often has greater mystery and beauty to us than to those we endeavor to create it with, therefore we coach, cajole, plead, demand, and sigh… a lot.

One director I studied under varied in his quirkiness by either hilarious flashes of humor, or sudden outbursts of temper. Another used humor to keep the rehearsal moving along, and then in the middle of directing a piece would begin to focus his eyes up and to the left… just above the heads of the choir. We often wondered what he saw over there during anthems. I sat under one director’s leadership for just a short two seasons, as his quirk was to berate the choir repeatedly… not much fun. A director I loved singing under had the most beautiful presence before the choir. He simply exuded artistry and confidence. All were great musicians, and all got amazing results from their choirs.

The evening after our return from Turkey, I began rehearsals with 40+ singers from several area churches to prepare a Christmas Concert for Reformed Theological Seminary. I spent several months choosing the music, and think we’ll have a great program, but rehearsing challenging music with a volunteer choir is challenging in itself, and I’ve experienced my quirkiness coming forth in rehearsals more and more as we draw near the performance date.

I long for the singers to truly experience the wonder of singing something truly beautiful with skill and artistry. I’ve been encouraged by their efforts, and think we might just pull it off. As a singer, one can truly be transported when the voices finally blend with beauty, breath, and articulation—it can be quite stirring personally, something I hope that this group will be able to experience in this program. However, not all of the music is easy…there are a couple of challenge pieces that need greater study by the singers and better direction from me.

Hence the quirk. I’m a little nervous about these two pieces, and I find myself searching for analogies and metaphors that will somehow speak to those in the group that aren’t quite ‘feeling it’… and often resort to humor, followed by pleading and cajoling. Humor is a huge part of my life, and springs forth from my mouth often unbidden, which can be a bit unsettling to those not so given to mirth. Sometimes I sense the whole choir is with me in my joviality, but often my eye strays to that person or two who thinks I might need medication. Viva la difference! To me that is what makes this community effort so rich. God has brought a diverse group of quirky people together to create wonderful music to His glory. Using all of us at our varied levels of skill to strive together toward the goal of creating an exciting concert.

We have three rehearsals left… please Lord, let us sing with beauty, passion, skill, and artistry. In the meantime, may we enjoy the quirkiness of one another.