By Jordan Truesdell
This is my first move into contemporary, but not my first “arrive and sing” event. Barbershoppers have “brigades” (http://www.harmonybrigade.org/faq.php) where 100-120 men get 12 challenging songs in the mail, show up for a weekend a couple months later, get randomly combined into quartets, and – with one hour to practice – compete against one another.

The next day, we put on a concert. Due to the schedule, we only get about 7-8 mintues to rehearse each song as a chorus…and it sounds like this:  .

As much fun as it is to sing in a “regular” group, there’s something extra-cool about showing up to an event with people you never get to sing with, singing something complex and interesting, and really making music. It’s a bit like the movies where total strangers meet and magically make great music with seemingly no work – this is about as close as it gets in real life.

The best way to get to know people, and to have fun, is to sing with them. I can’t imagine a better way to make the most of my first SingStrong. Kudos to everyone involved in the hard work it takes to prepare and organize these events!