My big sister Siri was already singing in TYC when I joined during 5th grade, back in ‘94-’95. And my joining wouldn’t have happened if Mrs. Herrington—perceptive woman that she is—hadn’t masked my audition as a little sing-a-long after Siri’s rehearsal one day. Because I was not going to audition. That was a definite “no” for me. I was willing to sing with other kids and try hard and listen to instructions and learn and do my very best as long as I was not on the spot. Judy knew that, or maybe it was nothing to do with me and she was just desperate for more singers in those early days. Either way, I’m grateful.
I’m grateful for the experience of singing in so many different languages, for learning about breath and vowels and balance, for getting to stand beside Anna Herrington year after year in the alto section. (Anna was serious about music and better at reading notes than me, but really fun to stand beside because she also inherited a sense of humor from her mom and we laughed a lot.) And I’m grateful for learning how to cgo on stage, for learning that I could stand there with so many people watching. Do you know why I could? Because TYC wasn’t about me. It was about us. Tacoma Youth Chorus was never about solos and stars. It was and is about the mysterious, powerful, uplifting phenomenon of what my voice can never do without yours.
I loved it so much that I stayed as long as I could, right through high school graduation in 2002. Now my nieces sing in the choir. Even though all the voices are different from when I was growing up, if I close my eyes it could still be us.
