I Love Choir (and Our Trip to Zamora)

After singing for my entire life in one form or another, I knew that when I came to Spain I wanted to find a choir to join. I had great choir experiences throughout childhood and high school (yes, I’ll admit it now, even though I complained mightily about NMH Concert Choir and Select Women’s Ensemble), but was disappointed in the offerings in college. Don’t get me wrong – my acapella group, the ConnChords, were (are) my saviors, my sisters, the lights in my life through my four years at Conn. But I missed classical singing, and found that the Chamber Choir left much to be desired. So imagine my excitement when, through simple internet searches, I stumbled upon the blog for a choir right here in Santander. I listened to the videos and it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for – about forty members, with a high level of musicality, a great sense of community and humor, but with a low-pressure, non-competitive feel. I sent an email to the director listing my ‘credentials’ and experience, and was invited to come to a rehearsal. In hindsight I know I needn’t have written so formally and talked myself up so much – I’m sure he laughed to himself when he read how serious I was trying to make myself sound. But I went to that first rehearsal, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Everyone in choir is simply wonderful. They are interested, inclusive, friendly, caring, hilarious, MUSICAL, and take care of me like one of their own. Especially now, in my second year, I feel more comfortable than ever with them and with my Spanish. I can laugh and joke along with them, and I really feel like a part of the community, a part of their ‘musical family’ as the director called it in an email once. They remind me of some of my mom’s kooky (and totally wonderful) music friends at home. The majority have been singing together since college (everyone is in their 50s minus me, the director’s two teenage daughters, and 30-something-year-old Maria), and are all the best of friends. 

Last fall, in November, we went away for a weekend to the province of Zamora, which is to the south and west of us. The town governments of Toro and Urueña invited us to come and sing a few concerts and a mass for them. In Spain, “invited” means that everything was paid for! We took a bus down and stayed overnight in a nice hotel, had good meals at a convent (?), and enjoyed the star treatment for the weekend. I was a little worried at first, not knowing if I’d have anyone to hang out with, if I’d be included, who I’d share a room with, etc. But it turned out to be one of the best times I’ve had in Spain. (I shared a room with Cristina, who is 15 and very sweet)

We visited a lot of the historical stuff in the area, lots of churches with beautiful frescoes… I had planned to make that a list, but mostly what we saw were churches! One of the monasteries/churches had one of the biggest reliquaries in Spain – if you don’t know what a reliquary is…just think dead guys! Pieces and body parts of various saints and religious things, all encased in glass or framed. Very creepy, and very cool. 

The young priest at the church where we sang mass Sunday morning was really candid with us, admitting that most (all) of it was rabbit bones or the remains of some anonymous human beings that had been dug up and sold as religious artifacts. That Sunday was St Cecilia’s day, so we sang a mass in her honor, as she is the patron saint of music and musicians. The church has a cross separated into little compartments full of bone powder from various saints, one of them being St Cecilia. At the end of the mass you could come to the front of the church to kiss the cross and pay your respects. 

Being slightly germaphobic I decided just to touch it and not kiss it. They also had a spine from the crown of thorns Christ was crucified in and the (now) shredded flag that was used to scare away the Turks in some ancient important Spanish battle. 

It was also nice to be back in Castilla y León, which is the province where Salamanca is, where I studied in 2006. It’s amazing how varied the Spanish landscape is – where I live, in Cantabria on the north coast, it’s very green and lush and hilly, and the Picos de Europa mountain range are visible to the south, usually covered with snow. Castilla y León, however, is the famous “plain in Spain,” (although the rain stays up here, and not down in the drought-plagued central parts of the country). It reminds me of the western part of the United States, open and flat and a lovely brown prairie color.  Of course, in the US we don't have amazing castles disrupting our prairies...

The best part of the trip, though, was spending time with everyone in the choir. I know it sounds sappy, but I am so grateful every time I go to rehearsal – not only are they great people who have accepted me into their family, but we make beautiful music together. All you Chords and music-types out there will understand what I mean when I say it makes it so much more special and multi-dimensional when you work hard to create something beautiful with people you love.