“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.”
– Mark Twain

There are few ironclad guarantees in the world of the Windward Choral Society. I can’t tell you what language(s) you’ll be singing, how many strange noises you’ll make during warm-ups, or what goes through the mind of a tenor (if anything other than a gentle breeze). One thing that I know WILL happen? Laughter. Several healthy chunks of it. I’m not talking snicker and snort laughs, I’m talking full-on belly laughs. 100% certainty on this.

How can I be so sure? Ignoring the fact that I have lots of experience with it to pull my statistics from, it boils down to two things: fun and love.

First, singing is fun. If it wasn’t, who would do it? Do you sing along with a song in the car because you don’t like it? Of course not. And the fact that you know the words by heart means it MUST be fun or you wouldn’t be singing (and making the person next to you in traffic laugh…see, the fun is shared). Face it, if getting together with 100 people to share the joy of music sucked, those are two hours on a weeknight you’d spend someplace else. Our body likes to sing, our mind relishes it.

Second, there are layers of love in the room. Not to get all new-age-mushy on you, but think about it. During next week’s rehearsal, when everyone is singing, look around (only for a second…you’re supposed to be busy singing). Watch the faces. There’s a love of the moment that’s easy to see, even when the singer is concentrating on trying to figure out the next note. That furrowed brow can’t mask it. When notes are coming out of your mouth you can’t help it…you love it. Watch Susie (which you’re doing already, of course). If she didn’t love what she was doing, she wouldn’t be up there glowing like that. That passion is what drives a choral conductor; they HAVE to do what they do, anything else would leave a hole in their heart. (It’s certainly not so they can get rich. If you want to make a small fortune as a music director…start with a large one.) At the end of the evening, as the chairs are being put away and the mingling is going on, watch the interaction between the singers. Watch their faces again. There’s a shared love of singing there and, as new-age-mushy as it sounds, a love of each other. This bunch really has become a family, more so than any other group I’ve sung with. Go ahead…tell me I’m wrong. Can’t, can you?

So enjoy it all, have a belly laugh or two. That’s part of who and what we are. Chances are there will even be a substantial “hyuk” during our concerts. If there wasn’t, we wouldn’t be the Windward Choral Society. We’d just be a bunch of people who hate singing and the rehearsal hall would be empty on Tuesday nights.

Oh, yeah…what Milton Berle said…”Laughter is an instant vacation.”