Newbie soprano Louise reflects on her first concert as a Pink Singer at Notes from a Small Island last Saturday at Hackney Empire.
I have performed in smaller, more informal concerts before, and as a teacher every day is a performance for me, but nothing compares to standing under those bright and burning lights in front of over 600 people at the beautiful Hackney Empire. This was something very special.
I had felt anxious in the weeks running up to the concert, spending every spare moment listening to tracks, learning words and attempting to multi-task with the addition of choreography. But after a gruelling (and sweltering) technical rehearsal, 7pm somehow crept up on me and I can honestly say I was excited as the performance started. My concert cherry was about to pop as they say.
But would I go to death and go to slaughter? Would I panic part way through? It helped not being able to see anyone in the audience. In fact it required a leap of faith to even believe there was anyone out there until the first burst of rapturous applause after Under Pressure. Pressure off. I subsequently enjoyed every second of the entire concert, including our most challenging piece Peter Grimes. (I should add here that there was a 14 year old in the audience who loved it too but wondered why on earth we were singing so aggressively about peas and rice. Hmmm.)
The various emails and text messages I have received since the concert from friends and family put words to feelings much more succinctly than I can at the moment. I truly cannot find the words that adequately encapsulate what it meant to me. They tell me the Pink Singers are a choir to be proud of. They describe the performance as SENSATIONAL. They say we demonstrate diversity, humour and passion. They say that they feel that whenever we sing it feels like EVERY person they fix on is totally committed to singing, and to them individually. All true.
I feel both empowered and humbled by my first Pinkie concert. What an amazing thing to be part of! I am, alas, experiencing the PPBs – the Post Pinkie Blues. What am I going to do on my Sundays now? Everything now seems an insubstantial pageant in comparison. Although I have filled my summer with plans already, I will be counting down the weeks until the next season starts. And you really should come to our next concert. You may even be kissed on the nose by a gay…
With thanks to Suzanne Mitchell Photography
Louise
Timeline datestamp: 19 July 2014