The Singing Begins

Dateline: Seattle. Tallis Scholars Summer School

We’ve begun, and as with any performance-oriented endeavor, the butterflies calmed down once the singing started.

We started with a warm-up and then began what was called a “Singing Safari,” designed both to let us get to know each other, and to let each of the four Tallis tutors know us. We rotated through four, 25-minute sessions, in groups of approximately 16 people. Each session was with a different tutor and devoted to reading a different composition by an Italian Renaissance composer.

It was pretty rough around the edges, but by the time we were through, I was feeling as though I can, indeed, do this. My final session was with David Woodcock, who is a powerful conductor - he was working on musicality and phrasing even as we were learning the notes. And the two Tallis members who will be our singing teachers, Janet Coxwell and Andrew Carwood, were simply outstanding. I was amazed at what they were able to accomplish with us in 25 minutes, and can’t wait to work with them all more!