A Night to Remember

On the evening of Saturday, September 30, 2023, the South Shore Saints were invited to perform at a fundraising event—an Italian Night Spaghetti Dinner—sponsored by the Saint Raymond Parish in Candiac, Quebec. 

 

Though this event was new to me, it was evidently not the first time the chorus had sung at the venue, an elegant, spacious, and well-equipped recreation/community center, with numerous rooms that could have served for our warm-ups. The relaxed manner of all our members seemed to portend a joyous evening of singing.

 

It was only a few weeks ago that Frank Kermit became the newest member of the chorus. Yet in that short amount of time, he made remarkable progress in learning our repertoire and infused the chorus with a big dose of passion and plenty of ideas.

 

On this night, clad in fashionably entertaining attire, he took to the stage to introduce the chorus—in Italian no less, drawing on his roots—to a sizable audience (nearly a hundred or more?). His words served to break the ice, and we received a warm welcome. His congenial son graciously served as our videographer. I sensed that seeing father and son working together made our members very proud.

 

By the time we were ready to sing, the many auspicious signs appeared to have put us all in a lighthearted mood—just the way we’d like to prepare ourselves always when we are about to sing. Perhaps that mood allowed all of us to remember the advice our directors had given us during our warm-up: “don’t try to be the hero!”

 

Indeed. we listened to each other. We matched our vowels. And we did not over-sing. Which all made for a wonderful night of singing: My Girl, Ten Feet Off the Ground, Ca va, They Call the Wind Mariah, and Boardwalk. And by the end of the last song, the audience had joined us in singing the refrain: under the boardwalk, boardwalk!

 

It was one of the most gratifying singing experiences for me since joining the chorus. Let’s take these lessons with us to the Fall Convention at Windham/Nashua, New Hampshire!