JustynAdventure: Seeing The World Through Music

One of my favorite parts about being in the music program was the opportunity to travel. I had the chance to pursue my passion for music and also tour to different states and countries. Mr. Rogers is a well-known director in the choral music community. He has traveled to different states and countries making connections with other singers and music directors and working with their groups. He has also entered Chamber Singers and Singcopation into various competitions worldwide. Because of this, the groups are still being invited to compete and perform at conferences and festivals all around the world. It still blows my mind to think that I was a part of something like that. In my time with the groups, I got to tour all over the United States. We visited the East and West Coasts, and even attended a conference in Dallas, Texas. I was also a part of the group when they toured China, Germany and Poland.

These experiences were all different for me, but I counted each tour as a privilege. If not for this program, I would not have been able to do any of these things on my own, especially in a musical context. When in my life would I ever find myself traveling through Germany and Poland, walking the cobblestone pathways, learning Polish folk songs and dances from the children’s cultural center, and singing in beautifully crafted cathedrals? When would I ever find myself in China, on Chinese television singing in front of vocal groups from over 200 different countries? It feels like a dream, but I know it all happened. We mostly travelled overseas to compete in international competitions. The organization hosted the World Choir Games, and each year it was organized in a different country. My first year we competed they held it in Reno, Nevada. The next year was Guangzhou, China, and after that was Magdeburg, Germany. My favorite groups to watch were the groups from the Philippines and the ones that came from the African countries like South Africa and Sudan. They sang chamber music and 20^th century modern music like none I had ever heard before. Because of their language, and the way they formed their words, their singing took on a richer and deeper tone that most singers dream of developing. This way of singing just comes so naturally to them. They were also a joy to watch in the folk music category. African music is very rhythmical and requires a lot of syncopated movement. It’s hard not to feel the music when they just exude joy and fun. Being able to travel across the world to meet people of different cultures and share the common language of music really is something special.

Chamber Singers and Singco provided a way for us to connect with people through music which was always a delight and an added bonus to all the things that came with being part of the program. One of my most favorite experiences being a part of Singcopation came towards the end of my term at Mt. Sac. We were invited to perform as headliners at the Harlem Jazz Festival. It was huge honor to be chosen to open up the festival. If you know a lot about Jazz history, you would know that Harlem was one of the biggest landmarks associated with the genre, along with Kansas City and New Orleans. This alone made me really excited. I had been to New York a couple of times before, but never to Harlem. On top of performing as headliners, we also found out that we would be performing in the famous Apollo Theatre, where the legend herself, Ella Fitzgerald got her start. Ella was a role model of jazz to me. I studied her work constantly. I read books about her, and I watched all of the YouTube videos that were posted about her. She was someone who I tried to emulate as a performer. She was so mart about how she phrased certain words and how she interacted with the live musicians. She was also brave enough to try weird things in her improv singing and it paid off because she did it so often. She was amazing, and I had the opportunity to stand on the stage where she stood and sing just like she did.

The stage manager had told us that most of the building was preserved to keep its original style and feel, they had just adjusted some of the framework to make it sturdier. Even the dressing rooms were kept in their original form. I took a moment during a break on stage to stand in the middle and look out. This was her view. This is where Ella stood and sang “The Object of My Affection” and won first place. It was a surreal moment for me. Never in my life did I think I would get to do something like that. Never in my life would I have had the opportunity to do any of the things if not for Mr. Rogers and Mt Sac. This time in my life is still something I reflect on and reminisce about. It is one of the major highlights of my music career. There is nothing else out there like it, and I’m so blessed to have been a part of something amazing like the Mount San Antonio College Chamber Singers and Singcopation.