Chicago Choral Artists

In graduate school, my choral conducting colleagues and I often found ourselves reciting the mantra, "Conducting is the art of preparation." As we approach another rehearsal of CCA's unique holiday program, I am reminded of this mantra– and the various layers of meaning embedded within it. 

For musicians, preparation and rehearsal occupy a large proportion of our time. When invited to a social gathering, our friends and families are well accustomed to the refrain, "Sorry, I can't come– I have rehearsal!" And at this time of year, there is even more rehearsal than usual! We are endlessly busy preparing for the concerts and performances that occupy us in December. 

I look forward to connecting with the singers at CCA every Tuesday night for our weekly rehearsals. The work we do together during these gatherings and the pride we feel in our work motivates and inspires me every day. I have come to expect a kind of spiritual food from the practice of rehearsal with my fine colleagues. 

The first set in our holiday program weaves the theme of preparation into a narrative rich with expectation and longing so closely linked to the Advent season.  The program begins with the plea "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" set beautifully by our composer-in-residence, John Osterhagen. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves waiting, expectantly– almost anxiously– for peace and reconciliation to come to our communities. 

In next week's blog post, we'll talk about what happens when peace and reconciliation does come. Off to another rehearsal!

What is it about the voice? American bass Paul Robeson's voice became iconic in representing the struggles of African Americans during the Civil Rights movement. Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks immortalized the distinctive timbre and power of his voice in the powerful poem that we are reflecting on with our choral programs this year.

Brooks invokes a powerful image of Robeson singing the American folk song, "Shenandoah." But instead of dwelling on the surface level images described in the text of this particular song, Brooks writes that this music serves to warn us of the interconnectedness of our humanity. Music as warning. 

For so many of us, music is an anodyne; something we use to make us feel better about our lives in a given moment. But music wields an under-appreciated power. The power to make us move; to make us act; to reach out a hand to those in need. Music calls out to us with an image of an ideal world– a "yet to be" world– that pushes us forward towards progress and hope and change. 

This year, the Chicago Choral Artists shine a light on the distance between those two worlds. How do we get from where we are to where we need to be? Perhaps music can provide us with the answer.

Paul Robeson
by Gwendolyn Brooks

That time 
we all heard it, 
cool and clear, 
cutting across the hot grit of the day. 
The major Voice. 
The adult Voice. 
forgoing Rolling River, 
forgoing tearful tale of bale and barge 
and other symptoms of an old despond. 
Warning in music-words devout and large, 
that we are each other’s 
harvest: 
we are each other’s 
business: 
we are each other’s 
magnitude and bond.