The Unbelievable Unflappability of Voices Rising

GALA 2008 had a familar sense of a vast gathering of all choral folk. Having been to the previous 2004 festival in Montreal, I had some idea of the overall process. This festival had our group going with pride that we have come this far as a chorus born shortly before the Montreal experience. We had a good percentage of women attending although I wished our whole membership could have the been there. Because our travel arrangements were done individually and arrivals were gradual, there was the fun of seeing our count grow over the first 24 hours. By the opening ceremonies, there were enough of us to sit together as a whole group able to make a resounding response as Voices Rising was announced. Our rehearsal schedule before GALA had us well prepared, and the concert with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus and Ireland's Gloria was an exciting pre-GALA kickoff. Once we were together in Miami, the focus became the technical rehearsal run-thru and our final group rehearsal, both being the day before our performance. Here's us at our final group rehearsal in Miami, and the view out the window of the rehearsal room.





We could feel the excitement building. I was networking with women I met on Miami's metromover and in the hotels, restaurants and concert halls. I particularly wanted to support other women's choruses and have them do the same for us. I invited and encouraged all to come to our concert block on that Tuesday, July 15th at 4pm and I distributed many of our new classy handouts to spread the VR information.

The GALA crew are precise with their timing and have a system for escorting choruses into a practice Green Room and then on and off stage with technical matters and needs being determined such as spacing, microphones, podium, etc. We had borrowed an electronic keyboard for 2 of our 7 pieces, and we had no idea that the keyboard would in fact provide us with the most suspenseful and nerve-wracking moments of our time at GALA, With only 30 minutes for all larger groups performing, timing is extremely critical because the countdown begins as the stage is approached by the first singer. If a group exceeds the time limit, the stage lights go down briefly and then off completely leaving the chorus to exit unceremoniously in darkness. We knew this firsthand from Montreal and didn't want it to happen in 2008. We had lined up efficiently with the intent to expedite our entry. We had toyed with the idea of not stopping for applause between a couple of numbers to insure more comfort of staying within the 30 minutes. We had strategized all we could anticipate, but what followed surprised us all. As Leora approached the podium to lead us, the electronic keyboard collapsed onto the stage floor. We collectively and discreetly caught our breath and tried to remain calm and poised....seemingly unflustered, but hardly the case. The crew attempted to right the problem, but not before a second collapse. Now the audience was emitting sounds of empathy. The clock was ticking. Leora stood before us and mouthed to us that she was not going to speak to the hall about what was going on in those precious passing seconds. Her choice was to smile at us and instill confidence not panic. The ultimate fix was duct tape which the crew produced as the hall applauded. With that we flowed into our set and proudly sang. Probably affected the most, Jennifer, our accompanist, had to hope that the temporary measures would hold while she played all seven pieces. We sang, we beamed, we were applauded and we walked off stage proudly well lit and within our time allotment!

Feedback has been great. People recognized us in the colorful red and black shirt combinations we wore. They told us we looked good, that our diction was clear, and that our set was diverse and appealing. The Boston Gay Men's Chorus was there to support the home team as well as friends and family.

The efforts made to get to GALA were incalculably huge, and the thirty minutes of performing were fleetingly quick, but the thrill of being on that beautiful stage with an audience mostly compiled of singers who knew what we were going through is exhilarating and enduring. It is also what pushes us on as a group of women who want to sing so we can look ahead and hopefully go to GALA in four more years!

Chris Roberts
Second Soprano