Why We Sing: YRCC loves this song, and loves to sing

Our (surprise) encore song at our concert on Sunday will be Why We Sing. 

When we first got this piece of music, and started learning it, a number of us started to cry. 

Singing is so good! We love it, and the song gives us so many reasons why singing is good. We've joined the choir for all kinds of reasons, and we love it for all of the reasons that are listed in the song. 

We can feel good about singing and it's also good for our health, physical, mental, and spritual. I've read a ton of articles over the past couple decades about the health benefits of singing. Every time I read a new one, I feel validated. I'm doing something good for myself and for my community when I lead the choir. 

Peggy has sent me a new article on the health benefits of singing, Why singing is surprisingly good for your health, and of course it says choral singing is the best! 

    "But not all types of singing are equally beneficial. Singing as part of a group or a choir, for example, has been found to promote a greater level of psychological wellbeing than in solo singers."

"From boosting the brain to reducing pain, joining others in song can bring some wide-ranging benefits." Yes, I know. Go ahead and read the article. It's pretty good. There's a link down there.  

 

Read the article from BBC Future. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why We Sing by Greg Gilpin

A sound of hope, a sound of peace,
a sound that celebrates and speaks what we believe.
A sound of love, a sound so strong,
it’s amazing what is given when we share a song.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
take my hand and sing with me!
Soothe a soal, mend a heart, bring together lives
that have been torn apart.
Share the joy, find a friend,
it’s a neverending gift that circles back again.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
take my hand and sing with me!
Music builds a bridge, it can tear down a wall!

Music is a language, that can speak to one and all!

This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
take my hand and sing with me!
This is why we sing, we sing, WE SING!

 

YRCC 2025 Run-through Rehearsal Review December 2nd, 2025

Now, we're ready: We know how to hold our binders, how to walk, how to sit down and get back up again, and how to wait. Funny, it's just like Choir to make regular stuff that you've been doing forever, without thinking, into complicated things, like breathing for example. hahaha

It's not that complicated. Breathe deeply to support your voice. Hold your binder closed while walking, sitting, or waiting. And, hold it in your left arm. When we're ready to sing, I'll give you the signal to open your binders and you'll have them open while singing, and the close them before you start walking. 

The singing is well-rehearsed and the choir sounds great. You sound great. I know it doesn't always seem that way, especially if you're standing near the edges of the choir, far from the other parts, and maybe beside someone who sometimes gets a little lost. Did you hear the recording that Doug played for us during our break? Always, people are surprised to hear how we sound. We sound magnificent. Do your thing, the best you can, and your voice will join the others to create that big sound. Here is a link to a recording from last night. Enjoy that! And, feel confident and calmer. 

Try to feel confident in your part so that you can look up from your music to watch me for when to come in/start singing and when to stop. There were moments when people were not watching and we didn't sound 'together'. Those were always beginnings and endings of songs and sections of songs, a new verse, or phrase. If you miss a cue, don't come in loud when you're catching up, phase in gentlly. 

Soloists, please try to memorize your parts, so that you can look up at the audience, and not down into your binder the whole time. We'll try to get you a turn to sing with a microphone before the concert. Come at 1:00 and let me know you're there and ready. 

Stay healthy, or get healthy, please. I've been popping Vitamin C's like never before. And, drinking lots of water. Eating my veggies. Stretches, walking, dancing whatever makes your body feel good, do some of that. Get a good night's sleep Saturday night. 

If you want to read some advice I gave the choir about performing in 2012, here is a link. Very little has changed since then. The most important thing is to have fun, smile, sing with joy. When you're smiling the audience will smile, and their smiles will make you smile more, and so on. 

 

And, some business: Seniors' Visits and Binders

The next two Tuesdays, we're singing at seniors' homes. Seniors' Visits are so rewarding and I encourage you to come to at least one. Please sign up on the website, in Events, so that I have an idea how many people are coming. 

After your last performance, (if you're not coming to the seniors' homes, you have to hand in your binder after the concert) you must hand in your binder and all the music. If you forget, you can bring the binder to Anne's or Peggy's house before Christmas. You'll get your binder back with the next season's music in January. 

Binders go to Peggy and Anne, so they can empty them all, put all the music away in filing cabinets in Peggy's house, and then fill them up with the music we're going to start singing in January! It's a big job, and you have to do your part, which is so easy, just hand your binder in at the end of each season. If you forget, you can bring the binder to Anne's or Peggy's house before Christmas.