One Voice At A Time

It is always a pleasure to take part in the annual 100 Voice Project - held in Barbados every August. Each year different participants are given the chance to shine musically, and this year was no different. However one soprano voice caught my attention and would became my project this year.

The soloist in our opening piece has been singing for years. She never really bothered to seek any type of vocal training, and as she put it I'm no real soloist. However the musical director had chosen her to do the solo in Haydn's Gloria. She wasn't the only one amongst us showing concern but since no-one else wanted to say anything, I took the opportunity to introduce myself just before the rehearsal was to begin. I asked if I could give her some pointers on improving her tone and hitting her notes. For a few minutes we looked at mouth formations for the right tonal quality as well as correcting her stance and approach to hitting the high notes. In there was also breath and breathing technique.

As we started the rehearsal and the chorus sang their bit, and waited with baited breath for the soloist to jump in, her voice soared and the tone was different. This was just from a pulling aside and having to work on the previously mentioned areas. She approached each obscenely high note with care and a deft surgical precision. The delivery was significantly better and the majority of notes were spot on. This is in comparison to just one or two rehearsals prior. She looked at me and I immediately gave her a thumbs up.

Now would come the more tedious stage, that is the one thing which all musicians must do. Practice, practice, practice...

As we prepared for concert the next few days, she and I continued to work on her confidence, and of course technique, tonal quality and diction. The days leading up to the recital saw her delivering flawlessly, there were signs of relief. The night of the concert and opening piece was started - the chorus led the buildup, the orchestra was on point and they all awaited the soloist's entrance. She was fabulous...