Why we need some choir! choir! Choir!

The idea behind Choir! Choir! Choir! is pretty simple: strangers gather, rehearse for about an hour, and then perform a song together. The brainchild of Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, it started in Toronto in 2011 and then spread around the world.

My sister introduced me to Choir! Choir! Choir! in 2020. A group had gathered in New York City two years before to perform David Bowie's "Heroes" with special guest singer David Byrne. When my sister sent me the link, we were in the early months of the pandemic and no choirs could assemble anywhere. 

Being part of a choir is beautifully human. It says something about our need for connection and the amazing things humans  create together. We can all name people with extraordinary voices--soloists whose talents we could never hope to match--but singing in a choir is different. 40 or 70 or 400 ordinary voices join together and make something none of them could do alone. The sum is truly greater than all its parts.

I feel that way about our country, too, even though our bonds seem increasingly fragile. It's evident that no matter who wins the election, we'll be sorely tested in the days and weeks ahead. "Heroes", especially when sung by a group of everyday, un-heroic strangers joined by shared affection and purpose, seems like a good song for these times.

If you're not a Bowie/Byrne fan, maybe the song below will be more your style. (And if you want something that's more purely fun, you might like the Choir! Choir! Choir! performances with Rick Astley or Colin Hay--the latter I think is remarkably good!) 

​This one is "We Belong," written by Lowen & Navarro but made famous by Pat Benatar. It also makes me think of this moment in America: "Whatever we deny or embrace / For worse or for better / We belong, we belong together." ​