Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Last Concert

Last night was my last concert with Medchoir, the medschool choir. I've been a member for the entire time I've been at Medschool, a grand total of 5 years, and now it's finished.

When I started at Medschool, and went to the Freshers Fair, the first thing I wanted to be signed up for was the newly formed choir. Everything else could be considered, but the choir was the thing. Sure enough, I found it, and signed myself up. During that first year there were about 10 members. We sung simple music, and did a 10 minute slot in the Medschool orchestra's concert. At the end of my first year, when the choir was 2 years old, it was decided that it needed a committee. So I put my name down, and became the treasurer.

Over the next four years I remained on the committee, becoming secretary and then finally president. I watched the members grow to nearly 40, and our hard work bring together concerts in several local churches. We've even sung for the Lord Mayor and for the Free Men of the City in the Council Houses!

Medchoir has always been a choir for everyone - even if you've only ever sung in the shower and don't read music. This can make rehearsals slow and limit the music we can sing. So two years ago we started a chamber choir, for people whose were better than your average. It's transmuted into a female vocal group, of about 8-10 of us, and we have a lot of fun. It relieves the boredom of listening the altos learning the same line over and over for the tenth week in a row!

But last night was the last concert I'll ever sing with them. It was fantastic - a joint concert between all the music groups in the Medical school, including the orchestra, choir, chamber choir and flute group. It was just as it ever was and ever has been, but I'll never do it again. I'm going to miss all of them, my singing friends. But what a way to go! The first time the choir and orchestra have ever completed a joint piece: Handel's Zadok the Priest. It was an amazing high at the end of a long and tuneful road. And here it is, by the magic of the internet - not in perfect quality, half the orchestra seem to have disappeared, but here none the less, for your enjoyment!
(I've also included the female chamber choir singing the Dance of the Magyars, because it sounded great and we loved singing it!)

2 comments:

Marysienka said...

Where's the music, I can't see (hear) it?! I want to hear the songs!
I'm sure you're going to miss your choir, it is such a wonderful activity. Just like you, when we created our choir, we were not even 15, and today we are like 40! It's amazing (although I miss just being our little gang at times...).
Oh well, at least it's good memories from medschool!

I'm alto, by the way :-P

Anna said...

And I'm a soprano, could you guess? ;)

I'm the worst sort of soprano - first sop in the first sops, the one who twitters to their neighbour in rehearsal then doesn't know the page number... It's a good job I sing well or I'd have been out years ago!

Apparently you need some fancy reader mejobby to see/hear the music, if its there, which I did not realise when I merrily set it up. I shall have to have a play with youtube to get it up and working that way.

I know what you mean about missing the little gang - which is why we started the chamber choir. Then you can do both!