Although I didn't document the past three days with pictures, the experience had is well worth a blog post! Oh, the Finnish choir experience! I knew joining a choir would give ample amounts of sociological observation and a good insight into Finnish culture... I did not realize it would be this exciting. The past three days we've had intensive choir rehearsals because we're preparing for a concert series in two weeks where we'll be singing a concert in Turku and then in Helsinki, both times with a choir from Helsinki. Saturday was an all-day intensive workshop to really focus on the songs, but also build some skills on the other aspects of music making.
The morning began with a yoga session, led by the choir director as he is also a yoga instructor. I sympathize greatly with the exchange students who used to come to my aerobics classes in Latvia because trying to follow movements while you're leaning over touching your toes is not easy and you only get part of the exercise the others, who have the luxury of understanding the language, do. After an invigorating start, we split up into small groups and set off to different stations.
The first stop was with our "Wakcari" song books, the holy bible for Turku choir members, that comes along to every party, event, etc. I tried to liken it to our "Līksmības Zizlis" for Latvians abroad, but the songs in this book are composed and written out in four-part harmony. Maybe more of a fraternity song book. Either way, the goal of this session was to go over some of the songs that would be sung later in the evening at the choir dinner, so that we could show-off to the other choir how well we can sing!
Next followed a fun, get-to-know-you session. I felt a bit like a burden because everyone had to switch to English because of my lack of Finnish knowledge. But it was great to finally get to know some of the other choir members (memorizing names is NOT easy!). We introduced ourselves, at which time we had to share our favorite Moomin character. Alas! I had only briefly heard about Moomin when teaching English to a little girl in Latvia and even then I just faked my way along, not having the slightest clue of what she was talking about! Moomin is a popular Finnish cartoon series, there's even a Moomin amusement park outside of Turku. Everyone loves them and everyone has their favorite character... culture catch-up majorly needed.
Check out the Moomin Opening Theme Song here.
After playing some team building games, I, as the newest member of the choir was tested to see if I knew all the names of my group members... and did not fail as gravely as I imagined I would. Success! Then it was off to meet with the choir director who taught us a thing or two about conducting. Having been in orchestra, studying music and actually directing the Pitt Pendulums definitely put me a bit ahead of everyone else, but it was still good to repeat and fine-tune my skills as a conductor. It's definitely not as easy as it seems and I was chosen first to go in front of the group and conduct a song I had never heard before. Ah, one of the perks of NOT being a shy-Finn... get to set the example. Laughs and all, it was fun!
The final session was to review (or in my case learn anew) two canons that the choir sings. One composed for the 25th anniversary of the choir, a dissonant and not easy to follow song with such an ambiguous key structure that it was hard to follow where the tune was going next. The other ditty was written about the previous choir director and told the story about him traveling to Tallinn, buying too much alcohol and getting arrested. Yes! The typical Finnish account of the alcohol obsessed...
After a relaxing lunch break, the guest choir from Helsinki arrived for the more official part of the day. We sang over some of the pieces for the concert, one, which is a series of Four Shakespeare Songs. Reminds me of Nightmare Before Christmas and definitely sets the mood for Halloween! Here's a video from another choir singing one of the songs- Double, Double Toil and Trouble!
The rehearsal ended on a high note with positive spirits that the upcoming concert will be successful. I'm refreshed and happy to sing with a choir of such high standards! Reminds me of those high school days going to regional competitions and singing with the best of the best around. We were all ready for dinner and to let loose a bit! And this was where things got interesting. Singing was obviously an integral part of the evening's festivities. Both choirs brought along their song books (the Wakcari for the Turku choir) and were ready to duel it out in sing offs all night long. It was a very amicable evening, most people joined in the other choir's songs if they knew the tune. Toasts and welcomes were included, followed by a delicious, hearty meat and potatoes kind of dinner.
Most importantly, the drinking. Everyone had either brought along something to drink or had bought drink tickets to buy what was provided. From beer, to cider, to hard alcohol. Everyone mixing, taking shots, and of course cheers'ing all your table-mates after each song. Some songs had choreography, where during each verse we'd link elbows and sway, then stand up and sway, then stand on chairs and sway, ending with the grand finale of UNDER the table, linked-elbows, swaying. Haha.
Men serenaded the ladies, ladies serenaded the men, everyone hugged, it was such a pleasant and open company to be with! And even without understanding most of what was going on, I could enjoy myself, practice my sight-reading skills and learning some new songs. All in all, a successful evening and I'm excited for more when we go to Helsinki in two weeks and later this semester when we celebrate the Holiday concert. Kippis!
The morning began with a yoga session, led by the choir director as he is also a yoga instructor. I sympathize greatly with the exchange students who used to come to my aerobics classes in Latvia because trying to follow movements while you're leaning over touching your toes is not easy and you only get part of the exercise the others, who have the luxury of understanding the language, do. After an invigorating start, we split up into small groups and set off to different stations.
The first stop was with our "Wakcari" song books, the holy bible for Turku choir members, that comes along to every party, event, etc. I tried to liken it to our "Līksmības Zizlis" for Latvians abroad, but the songs in this book are composed and written out in four-part harmony. Maybe more of a fraternity song book. Either way, the goal of this session was to go over some of the songs that would be sung later in the evening at the choir dinner, so that we could show-off to the other choir how well we can sing!
Next followed a fun, get-to-know-you session. I felt a bit like a burden because everyone had to switch to English because of my lack of Finnish knowledge. But it was great to finally get to know some of the other choir members (memorizing names is NOT easy!). We introduced ourselves, at which time we had to share our favorite Moomin character. Alas! I had only briefly heard about Moomin when teaching English to a little girl in Latvia and even then I just faked my way along, not having the slightest clue of what she was talking about! Moomin is a popular Finnish cartoon series, there's even a Moomin amusement park outside of Turku. Everyone loves them and everyone has their favorite character... culture catch-up majorly needed.
Check out the Moomin Opening Theme Song here.
After playing some team building games, I, as the newest member of the choir was tested to see if I knew all the names of my group members... and did not fail as gravely as I imagined I would. Success! Then it was off to meet with the choir director who taught us a thing or two about conducting. Having been in orchestra, studying music and actually directing the Pitt Pendulums definitely put me a bit ahead of everyone else, but it was still good to repeat and fine-tune my skills as a conductor. It's definitely not as easy as it seems and I was chosen first to go in front of the group and conduct a song I had never heard before. Ah, one of the perks of NOT being a shy-Finn... get to set the example. Laughs and all, it was fun!
The final session was to review (or in my case learn anew) two canons that the choir sings. One composed for the 25th anniversary of the choir, a dissonant and not easy to follow song with such an ambiguous key structure that it was hard to follow where the tune was going next. The other ditty was written about the previous choir director and told the story about him traveling to Tallinn, buying too much alcohol and getting arrested. Yes! The typical Finnish account of the alcohol obsessed...
After a relaxing lunch break, the guest choir from Helsinki arrived for the more official part of the day. We sang over some of the pieces for the concert, one, which is a series of Four Shakespeare Songs. Reminds me of Nightmare Before Christmas and definitely sets the mood for Halloween! Here's a video from another choir singing one of the songs- Double, Double Toil and Trouble!
The rehearsal ended on a high note with positive spirits that the upcoming concert will be successful. I'm refreshed and happy to sing with a choir of such high standards! Reminds me of those high school days going to regional competitions and singing with the best of the best around. We were all ready for dinner and to let loose a bit! And this was where things got interesting. Singing was obviously an integral part of the evening's festivities. Both choirs brought along their song books (the Wakcari for the Turku choir) and were ready to duel it out in sing offs all night long. It was a very amicable evening, most people joined in the other choir's songs if they knew the tune. Toasts and welcomes were included, followed by a delicious, hearty meat and potatoes kind of dinner.
Most importantly, the drinking. Everyone had either brought along something to drink or had bought drink tickets to buy what was provided. From beer, to cider, to hard alcohol. Everyone mixing, taking shots, and of course cheers'ing all your table-mates after each song. Some songs had choreography, where during each verse we'd link elbows and sway, then stand up and sway, then stand on chairs and sway, ending with the grand finale of UNDER the table, linked-elbows, swaying. Haha.
Men serenaded the ladies, ladies serenaded the men, everyone hugged, it was such a pleasant and open company to be with! And even without understanding most of what was going on, I could enjoy myself, practice my sight-reading skills and learning some new songs. All in all, a successful evening and I'm excited for more when we go to Helsinki in two weeks and later this semester when we celebrate the Holiday concert. Kippis!
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