Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do

I like to sing...no, in fact I think I love to sing. I am not much of a soloist, much to the chagrin of some friends here in Oslo, but I do enjoy singing in a choir. Since coming to Oslo I have joined a choir here, Angelos Koret, in which I am part of the bass section. For some of you who knew me in high school that may come as a surprise, as in high school I was a tenor...now I know what your thinking, "Oh Tallis, how great! You have matured, your voice changed and now your a bass...congrats!"...and I can tell you that that is not the case, in fact in high school I could sing bass too, but I sang tenor because thats what was needed...now I sing bass, cause thats what was needed. Nonetheless, I love it. There is something about singing bass that is quite enjoyable...maybe it is the really low notes, or the powerful simplicity of the bass line...either way, joining a choir and singing again has been a wonderful part of living in Norway. The choir is something of a community choir, its not part of the University but there are many university aged people in the choir. We practice on Tuesday nights at an old Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oslo. I got involved in the choir kind of by chance...when staying in Notodden in August with Kjersti and Jan, I was introduced to Kjersti's nephew Gaute, who is also a student at the University here. Over the course of our conversation the topic of singing came up, and he asked if I sang, and if I would want to check out a choir he was in, Angelos Koret. I told him that I had back in high school, but that that was over two years ago (since when did I get so old?) and I that hadnt sang since...but being as I am in Norway trying new things, I decided to check out the choir and am I glad I did. The choir rehersals are conducted and run completely in Norwegian...which one would think would be difficult seeing as the amount of Norgwegian I know is just about nothing, but since I have been in choirs before and am not completely tone deaf I am able to follow along for the most part. I am the only english-as-a-first-language member of the choir, so my fellow choir members have been very helpful in translating for me when needed, giving me pronounciation tips, and making me feel welcome.

Last night we had our first concert of the semester (there is another one in December), and I would say it went very well. It was a fundraising event to raise money for a new organ in the church where we practice...but despite the 100 NOK ticket price (equivalent to about $20) I still had quite the fan section. Tim, Eamon, Max, Steve, Kate, Kristina, Marianne, and Carine all came in support...for which I was very grateful. It is always fun to share with friends some of the things you truly love to do, and so being able to share my previously-forgotten-but-now-found love of singing, was a true delight.