Looking to the same horizon - ''again''.

This day has been rather uneventful, apart from my waking up really late - again. Missing Paul's first class - again. Not having a clue what is going in on the Prozorov family - again.
So it seems to have been a day full of endless ''agains''.
I got subpoenaed - again. I have to appear in court again on the 18th of August - yes, Tarryn, I have saved it on my phone.



One thing that I did find made my day, was the choosing of the Choral Evening's repertoire! This was exciting! Apart from the odd ''popular'' number - I was extremely happy with the choices.
My favorites being ''Lacrimosa'' and ''Company'' as well as ''For Good'' and the ''Afrikaans Medley''. Can you actually imagine how amazing our chorus is going to sound doing these? I mean, I don't mean to boast but we are quite amazing. WTS's own little Glee Club.



And all of this got me thinking about why humankind enjoys singing in unity so much? From ancient Grecian times people have been singing in unison to Dionysus and every other Greek god imaginable. And even today, people still are moved to tears by good choral singing. Emphasis here being on ''good''.
Is it because of the music that is being created? Is it the beautiful harmonies that transcend what one person's voice can do alone?
I mean, it's so easy to get bored listening to one person's voice (yes, I know) - even people who are famous and amazing are boring sometimes.
So what is it that make us sit up and listen – and I mean really listen to a chorus or choir singing?



My theory is this: audience members who are not a part of a chorus, who just listen, envy us.
And it's not because they don't have a voice (many of them do), I think it goes a lot deeper than that. It has to do with the human connection that a chorus represents. The sense of unity that happens when 20 odd people sing a tune or a harmony together.
We live in a disconnected world. A world where relationships can be formed online, where the best means of communication is a quick text message. Where face-to-face conversations are becoming more and more seldom. Where people's ideas and opinions and styles and tastes differ so much to what it was, say 100 years ago. Where communities have started to disintegrate because we are not connecting with each other. Where feeling alone in a big, big world has begun to be a part of who we have become.
And this is where a chorus or choir is different – suddenly you have a group of people all sharing one vision, all connecting with each other on a level that is much higher than most people will ever feel in their lives.
Suddenly, 20 odd people want the same thing – to sound great together. This is why it sounds awkward in a chorus when one person is louder than the others (yes, I know). It's because, in a chorus, you don't want to hear one person's voice or heart or soul – you want to get the sense of community.
And maybe the tears are a result of an audiences' longing for such a connection. Why is it that we get goosebumps and teary-eyed when an entire stadium sings ''Nkosi sikeleli Afrika''? It's because it represents our human longing for community, for people around us, for connection. ''No man is an island'' – how true.



So, I am very grateful that I can connect with 20 other people in such a way that transcends human understanding. I am very grateful to be a part of a chorus – surrounded by people who, for a couple of minutes, stand still and are looking at the same horizon as I am. It's like that song goes: ''Even though I know how very far apart we are...it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky.'' This is exactly what it feels like to me – we can all be different (and are we!), but for those moments in that song – we are ''sleeping underneath the same big sky''.

So - singing in the chorus was the one ''again'' of my day that I didn't mind at all.


I salute you – chorus of the Waterfront Theatre School.
I feel connected to you. And may we all rise to the occasion – and look to the same horizon.