Hi everyone! Sarah here again. A couple weeks ago Michael and I went to a cute little diner on the main drag in downtown Sioux Falls. There was a poster up in the lobby about a female barbershop group affiliated with the Sweet Adelines looking for more singers with four phone numbers to call. They must have really wanted people if they gave out four ways to reach them. I have only heard of barbershop quartets, so I figured there might be auditions for only one or two spots. I haven’t done much singing since college so I wasn’t sure what to expect or if I had a chance to make it in. So I gave them a call, and all my expectations flew out the window.
I talked with a very nice older-sounding gal who said there are actually 18 members of the group, some of whom have been in the group since it started 30 years ago and are now in their 80’s. Apparently there are groups in larger cities with as many as 70 members. She said some younger women have been joining the group recently and I was welcome to attend rehearsal on Tuesday. She would be waiting for me outside the door since it’s locked after 6 and you need a special code to be buzzed in. I got some confusing directions to a place called Prairie Creek Village which I couldn’t find on Google Maps so I armed myself with vague directions, her cell phone number and the promise of a search party if I didn’t appear. It wasn’t until right before I was about to leave for rehearsal when I realized if members are in their 80’s now, they must have been in their 50’s when they joined. And pretty much anyone is young compared to 80, so I wondered what it meant if "younger women" were joining. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect but there was no backing out now. Someone would be waiting for me outside the building, so I certainly couldn’t not show up now. Besides, I love to sing and I love to meet people, so at the worst this would just wind up another stop along the way in my musical extraverted adventure of life. As I walked to the car Michael called out the door, "Have fun singing with the Golden Girls!"
Well, it turns out Prairie Creek Village isn’t a school, church or fine arts center. It’s a senior citizen’s retirement home. And yes, when I walked in I was probably the only person under the age of 40. Or maybe even the only person under the age of 50. Most of the ladies appeared to be in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The director shares a remarkable resemblance to Chevy Chase and although I’m not sure of his background, he speaks with the authority and experience of a college level choir director.
They placed me front and center in between two very nice ladies and told me I could sign lead or tenor, which is the high soprano part in barbershop music. The lead is the melody line and there are two low parts called baritone and bass. Since it was my first time I tried sticking with the lead part for a while, until I realized at least half the ladies there were singing lead and only one brave soul was singing tenor. So there I was, sight reading the unfamiliar high parts of Christmas music for two and a half hours in a very warm room at a retirement home in the middle of a group of grandmothers and wondering if it was at all possible the director could in fact be Chevy Chase.
I felt a bit silly but once I was settled in the front row where I couldn’t see anyone else, I was much less aware of the glaring age gap and was able to focus more on the music. It took me a while to relax and enjoy it, but when I did I was surprised at how good they sound! Towards the end of our musical journey the temperature started to drop back down towards a comfortable 72 degrees. All the other ladies’ sweaters and cardigans went back on and I was finally not sweating anymore. There were occasional moments when we waited for someone to repeat instructions to the most senior member of the group to make sure she heard. But other than a few funny moments like this, I began to really feel like one of them. They were so warm and welcoming to me and the next day one of the gals recognized me at a store and came right over to ask me how my job search is going.
I realized that I have just found a remarkably loving and supportive group of women in Sioux Falls. I took my sheet music home to practice, received a code for the front door and promised to return next week. My Tuesday nights are now booked and I’m looking forward to our upcoming five-stop "Sing Out" Christmas concert tour of retirement and nursing homes in the area. I’m hoping there will be sequin vests, bow ties and hats, but I know better than to have any expectations.
