This is the story of 60 people from Rome, Italy, sharing a passion. We are an amateur choir, meeting once a week to sing together. Just figure 60 middle-aged (most of us) average people, rushing out of their offices, parking in chaotic Rome, then running, panting, and finally getting there, tired before the start, ready nonetheless for three challenging hours of rehearsing. Being ready means forgetting about our professional lives, mobile phones, kids at home…
It all happens in an enchanting location: the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri,
which is one of the most beautiful and famous Basilicas in Rome. In this church you can admire masterpieces by Michelangelo and other major artists, and also occasionally run into celebrities who are getting married here.
One resident celebrity is this wonderful organ, the biggest one in Italy, made by Barthelemy Formentelli in the year 2000.
Despite being an amateur choir, we often give concerts in Italy and abroad, performing major classical music masterpieces such as Bach’s B-minor mass, Mozart’s Requiem, etc.
How can we do this, given that many of us can hardly read a music score?
It’s a miracle made of passion, commitment, and our director’s professionalism.
Here is our boss…Osvaldo Guidotti: an excellent director, composer and teacher.
We feel he’s like a football coach who can convert an amateur team into a serious challenger for the world cup! Like football coaches, he can be tough, but he delivers…
In this series of posts we will tell you how we feel when we sing in front of hundreds of people, sometimes wearing funny costumes, struggling to deliver a professional performance.
Boy, it’s a lot of fun.
All SBD collected by this post will be donated to Aramus, a non-profit organization.