Pumpkin month is upon us, dear reader, and here at KTB Music Theatre Chorus, some of our spooky season lovers are eager to decorate. I am often a little perturbed when I see the zombies and skeletons in the same aisle as the tinsel and mince pies... I'm definitely going to take some time to enjoy the gorgeous autumn leaves while they're here. Musically, though... we're jingling all the way to December.
We weren't entirely free from terrifying stories to tell from tonight's chorus rehearsal, mind you. Katy's attempt to teach us all a "game" (you should definitely read that as though I'm making very heavily emphasised air quote motions) involving stomping and clapping - at different and randomly instructed times, mind you - probably caused some sort of chaos portal to open up. Either that, or we hexed the kettle, because it decided to give up the ghost tonight. Thankfully, we had an alternative. Thank you to our hosts at Chorley Theatre for letting us use the other kettle!
After some discussion on generally bonkers songs that we definitely want to try in future (watch this space...), we kicked off the singing with "While Shepherds Watched". "Um, that's not bonkers at all," I hear you mutter. "What kind of segue is that?" Well. This is a version of the song that you might not be familiar with, as it is sung to the tune of "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'At." It's lively ("With vigour," says the directions), it's fun, and frankly I've long preferred this version to the original. We are not, however, singing all seven verses. We're sorry about that. Take it up with KTB.
Our next new piece for the evening, "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" (Jackson 5), is a celebration of our altos, as they are the only ones who get to sing all of the lyrics here. It's a rarity in choirs, we know, and we're all so happy for them to get a chance to stand out and show us what they can do. This is one the audience will absolutely be singing along to - how can you not?
Time for something a bit more chilled out. "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane) is a contemplative number that we're able to just sink into. "You all sound beautiful," said our dear MD. Awww. There's those warm and cosy vibes that we all need now the mornings and evenings are getting chillier!
After our tea break (three cheers again for alternate kettles and very accommodating and helpful hosts!), we sat down to do some serious note-bashing of "Rudolph" (Robbie Williams). As I've mentioned, this piece is complex in that it's very 'bitty', so it definitely needed us rested and hydrated for running through those tricky sections again, and again, and again.
"White Winter Hymnal" (Fleet Foxes) is the closest we're getting to spooky season at MTC. There's such an eerie vibe to this one if we get it juuuust right. The wordless melodic line got stuck in my head when I did this last year, and now that it's back as an all-chorus piece, I'm wondering if other people keep finding themselves humming it at random moments. It's got real earworm potential for our audience. (Katy's soft little "Wow." at the end was all we needed to hear.)
Time to leave the dark and creepy landscapes behind and get back on the sleigh. "Sleigh Ride" (The Ronettes) sounds like gingerbread and candy canes, and we're going to work very hard at getting this one into muscle memory so we can give it the energy it needs. First up: making sure we're all singing the right line, rather than getting carried away with the reindeer. Sorry, Katy.
It's become sort of traditional at this time of year to finish a lot of rehearsals with "There Is a Santa Claus" (Elf: The Musical). It was all going along at its usual, high-energy pace, and then we all came to a screeching halt. Where was our soloist?! Not at rehearsal, that's where, but nobody jumped in at the appropriate moment. Not even our KTB dared. "Awwwwwww!" rang out around the room in a mournful tone. It's one of those movie-esque moments of MTC solidarity that genuinely gets us emotional, and honestly, we wouldn't have it any other way.
Do we dare start counting rehearsals until our first festive concert yet? The countdown has begun, and tickets are available now for our 'Kickstart to Christmas' concert on 28 November at Chorley Town Hall. We've got singers from the whole KTB Music family of choirs, plus the Chorley Silver Brass Band, plus our special guests from Brindle St James Primary School. We can already tell it's going to be spectacular, and a great way to get the whole family ready to deck the halls. We can't wait to meet you!
Written by Aeryn Isherwood