Chair Mark writes an open letter to future Pink Singers to tell them how awesome Various Voices in Munich in 2018 will be…
Dear Pinkies of January 2018,
No doubt the Management Committee have been banging on for a while now about Various Voices in Munich and badgering you to register so we can have a viable choir to send. As a semi-veteran of these events (Dublin, London, Paris, Montreal and Denver) I cannot recommend it highly enough.
For three days you’ll be safely wrapped in a choral bubble surrounded by like-minded singers from around the world.
You’ll not care what’s going on in the outside world. You’ll be on a constant emotional rollercoaster. You’ll be amazed by the sheer brilliance of some of the choirs. You’ll want to give standing ovations. You’ll feel for choirs appearing for the first time and visibly showing their nerves and having to start a song again from the beginning.
You’ll be torn between wanting to grab a short nap or going to the next concert block. You’ll probably go to the next concert block. You’ll find the Pinkie magic flows with abundance whenever the choir is together. You’ll realise that the Altos/Sopranos/Tenors/Basses* (delete as applicable) aren’t as scary as they seem at home. You’ll feel you belong. You’ll wonder how on earth you can get to see all 80+ choirs performing. You’ll be moved to tears by some sensational performances. You’ll wear your Pinkies t-shirt with pride and not want to take it off. You’ll laugh and probably drink too much. You’ll probably cry again at some point. You’ll beam from ear to ear whenever anyone says “the Pink Singers were just stunning – how do you get that sound?” You’ll walk just that little bit taller when you come off stage. You’ll be in awe of the organisers who move 3,000 people around with effortless grace and good humour. You’ll sing in bars and stairwells and on street corners. You’ll love it. You’ll want to stay for more.
You’ll come back with dozens of new Facebook friends from around the globe. You’ll wonder how you managed to keep going and wish you’d booked a bit more time off work to recover. You’ll wish you had learned the obligatory dance moves to Proud Mary. You’ll keep your delegate badge when you get home. You’ll talk about it for weeks to come. You’ll keep smiling. You’ll experience withdrawal symptoms. You’ll wait anxiously for the video of our performance to be posted on YouTube. You’ll wish there was another one next year. You’ll be exhausted. You’ll sleep. You’ll feel incredibly proud and lucky to be part of an amazing choir. You’ll realise how fucking/freaking* amazing the Pinkies are and how we’re looked up to by other choirs as an example of choral perfection and teamwork.
You’ll have no voice left.
Mark (Bass and Dowager Chair) x
Don’t want to wait until Various Voices 2018 to see the Pink Singers? Get your tickets now for Notes from a Small Island, our celebration of British composers and songwriters on Saturday 19 July 2014 at Hackney Empire.
I agree with all of the above but add my personal aftermath: you’ll fantasize even harder about winning the lottery so that you could quit your job and spend all your time traveling to several other countries each week to sing with choirs you saw, met and admired…temporarily forgetting how fucking/freaking* hard it is to memorize all the music for one chorus’ concert, much less four!