My job seems simple. I think that ever since I learned to talk, I started singing. It's impossible not to when your own parents were singing teachers before you were even born. My days are spent between rehearsals and concerts, and although I'm still studying, it's not as intense as in those early years when I was really learning music. Today it's more relaxed, I work fewer hours, and at the level I'm at, I can earn a decent income. But the truth is that it's not easy to stay in the music business. In fact, there's a lot I couldn't do. There was a time in my life when I needed to find what made me shine as a musician. No matter how many musical instruments I tried to play or how many popular music groups I was in, my destiny was to shine as a chorister...
Many people sing all over the world, although not everyone has a complete musical education, including me, but once I realized that I excelled at choral singing, I began to specialize in it. These first two photographs are from this past week. We just had evaluations in my group. It's not easy to remain a part of it; you can never let your guard down. You have to keep up with the repertoire, music theory, and vocal technique. There is another thing that is fundamental, but it comes so naturally to me that I don't even consider it, and that is pitch. I have tenor colleagues who are opera soloists, but impressively, when they sing in these evaluations, they have bad luck with tuning. My voice is smaller, since I am a popular music singer, but I was one of the few who excelled in tuning. I even remained steady even though other people next to me were doing very poorly. I was very happy for myself because it is something I can offer within the choir.
The following photographs are from our tour in Spain, and I wanted to share them to illustrate another of the virtues that makes me shine within the group. I am not a handsome man, but my stage presence has always ensured me a place in the front row of the group. I am someone who takes care of all the visual aspects to offer quality to the audience, something that I think should be natural for all the guys in the choir, but it doesn't happen. I invest a lot in my uniform, even though we have sheet music, I try to learn everything by heart, and I take care not to scratch myself, wipe myself, sneeze, talk, or look away during a concert. I am a very good actor and I connect with the art and the composition. even if I feel bad, I always have a smile if the music is meant to cheer up the audience, an angry face if we sing something furious, and many times I even shed a few tears when the music is sad. Believe me, not all choir members have these virtues, and although it comes naturally to me, it is actually something that can be learned.
I'm not saying that I'm better than my classmates, not at all. I've always felt that I'm one of the least talented musically speaking, but in weeks like the one that just ended, I realize how brilliant I can be, and I see why they accepted me here in the first place. We all have something to offer here. I sing pop, but others sing opera, others play symphonic instruments, others are professional actors, others are choir directors, others are composers, and we are all music teachers. The sum of all these talents makes us a brilliant group that stands out in the choral world. In fact, I would like to invite you to see a little more of our work on our YouTube channel by clicking here. I loved this weekend's topics; it is always a pleasure to reflect and write for Weekend-Engagement. Greetings to the entire community, especially Dr. Galenkp 🙏
