This Side of Lost

Joining the Los Angeles Master Chorale also meant joining their e-mail list. This happened over the summer due to my involvement with the Tristan Project, so I was privy to many things that get broadcasted on that list before the choir season started. Among them was notices for church gigs.

In the choral world, the term "church gig" refers to a part time job singing with a church choir. Yes, that's right, there are people who get paid to sing in church choirs, and churches who will pay them to do it. This was also news to me once upon a time. But they are commonplace and many of my compatriots in the Master Chorale had one. They generally involve one rehearsal a week besides the Sunday morning service(s) and include extra services at special times of the church year (Christmas, Lent, Easter).

One of the enduring mysteries of professional choral singing to me is how one finds a church gig. My first one back in Minnesota came from being asked at a rehearsal, "Do you have a church gig?" When I answered in the negative, the response was, "Do you want one?" So learning that the Master Chorale e-mail list was a clearinghouse for them was exciting for me. (Incidentally, where I live now, this website seems to be a place where many are posted.)

So I kept my eyes peeled, but didn't apply to any of the handful that were sent. This is because I'm picky: I was only interested if the church in question aligned somewhat closely with my own religious affiliation and also is in the same general geographic location. This is likely more picky than most singers are in this situation, and I was probably shooting myself in the foot in my search for employment by restricting myself thus.

But as fate would have it, a posting for a job at an Episcopalian church in Pacific Palisades (just down the 405 from where I lived) came through. I applied and was invited to audition. And was offered the job very shortly thereafter. And joined the choir at the Parish of St. Matthew nearly every Sunday from September to May.

Pacific Palisades is a wealthy community nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains on the coast side. The church follows suit -- the congregation is small but well-heeled, as evidenced by the four full time clergy, a music director and an organist. And the eight paid singers -- two in each section. Add on the impressive music series and it becomes obvious: this is a community that values music.

That was pretty clear from the start. Tom was an excellent director: he worked well with the staff and the volunteers, programmed his music well and cultivated a sense of professionalism in the choir without being overly serious. He could, however, be quick to show his disappointment if the choir was not coming along as expediently as he would have liked, but he could be forgiven this flaw with such an excellent group.

The staff was, of course, a big part of that excellency. Meet my colleagues:

• Diane, soprano. Professional music educator, specializing in the pre-school set (assuredly a lucrative niche among a certain population in Los Angeles)
• Shelley, soprano. Graduate of Indiana University's Early Music program, LA Master Chorale SACE roster member, outreach member (a 4 member group that does programs with schools around the area) and frequent soloist.
• Sara, alto. LA Opera Chorus member and voice teacher.
• Rose, alto. Pursuing a doctorate in music performance from UCLA. LA Master Chorale SACE roster member and frequent soloist.
• Pablo, tenor. Also an IU Early Music graduate. LA Master Chorale SACE roster member, outreach member and frequent soloist. Founding member of a professional men's ensemble.
• Dwayne, tenor. Former conductor of several wind ensembles of the United States Army. Professional composer and music instructor at UCLA.
• Mike, bass. LA Opera Chorus member and voice teacher.

Oh, and me. Guy who's sung in a lot of choirs. In what should come as no surprise, the seven other section leaders collectively were great sight readers, equally impressive musicians with beautiful and versatile voices. My years and years of choral singing experience has pounded enough sight reading talent into my head to keep up, though it was a challenge nearly every week.

The volunteers who make up the rest of the choir were pretty usual for a church group -- a mix of talented singers with people whose love for the craft outweigh their natural ability for it. All told, the group was very good for a church choir. It almost goes without saying that singing with this crowd was a joy. Especially the selections with only the octet. Instinctively taking a breath before an entrance and noticing that seven other people are taking exactly the same breath that you are? That's unusual and pretty outstanding.

As I got to know my staff colleagues through the year, I found them to have similarities with and differences from the Master Chorale singers. They were friendlier, probably due to the closer quarters of our working environment. They were very complimentary and supportive of my performances in rehearsal, in the services and in the concerts. Moreover, I thought they were all interesting and fun people. But, for some reason, I did not "make friends" with any of them. Something about the transparent veneer of professionalism seemed hard to penetrate in this setting. The "going to work" mentality may have been in play here as well.

I was also a bit unlike my compatriots in my motivation. I enjoy singing in church, and it's something I would do regardless of being paid or not. Music and liturgy are a big part of my personal spirituality and are the major reasons I manage to drag myself out of bed every Sunday morning. I go to church to worship, and singing is part of worship. I think most of my colleagues (excepting Diane) went to church to work. They were often silent during the recitation of the creed or prayers, did not take communion and could occasionally be found browsing a magazine during the sermon. Don't misunderstand me, though; I am casting no judgment on this behavior. It just reflects a different attitude towards the experience.

I found myself wondering about their faith. If they adhered to other beliefs, what would bring them to spend their Sundays among Episcopalians instead of in their own faith communities? The paycheck may be the obvious answer, and you may ask me the same question. Naturally I would still have been at the Lutheran church I went to the previous year if it weren't for the gig, but I still felt "at home" with this church. Besides the fact that the service shared many similarities with the standard Lutheran service, the high quality of the music and the sympathetic theology espoused by the clergy made for an effective foster church home.

I found more in common with the volunteers than I did with the staff. Despite none of them being near my age, or even having much in common with me other than singing in the same choir. But these were people here for the love of singing, which made their purpose somewhat closer to mine than the staff.

Leaving St. Matthew's was harder than leaving the Master Chorale -- because the quality of the music was higher. But once again I found it hard to identify with my peers. At the end of the day, I sing for the music. And the fact that my church gig provided me with a fantastic musical worship experience is actually more important to me than the paycheck.