The Bel Coro choir meets every Monday evening at the Moose Jaw Public Library at 7 p.m. with a binder of sheet music, ready to spend an hour or two working on their harmonies. Choir director Wanda Reid is always glad to see them.
Reid began the volunteer choir about three years ago out of a desire to work on arrangements again, and she is pleased with the response she has gotten from the singing community in Moose Jaw.
Bel Coro has about a dozen regular singers who dutifully show up of their own volition, and Reid welcomes drop-in visits from new singers at any of the group's practices.
Naturally, singing as part of an ensemble is usually more enjoyable with continued practice, but Reid doesn’t require people to continue attending each week. Bel Coro is fairly low-commitment, as far as choirs go.
“I've really made it clear from the beginning that it's just for fun,” said Reid. “I just didn't want it to be a high-pressure thing. The idea was that anybody could come. It isn't auditioned, or just for singing people.”
The group sings mostly folk tunes and older music, including English and Irish ditties that have stood the test of time and familiar Christmas carols. Generally, Reid plucks out arrangements that catch her eye and molds them to fit her singers.
“A lot of it is older, and folk tunes are kind of timeless,” said Reid. “We've actually picked up a few [Celtic folk tunes] and I was looking at some sea shanties, I haven't done anything like that yet.”
Reid chose to put the choir together because she missed being involved in music. She felt that a low-commitment choir would be a great opportunity for both herself and others to experience the good feeling that comes with singing.
Reid welcomes singers of all skill levels to give the choir a try, as she is more than happy to accommodate however she can. Being a part of the group is a great way to stay sharp with those musical skills, especially since Reid likes to challenge her singers to make the experience satisfying.
Although it may not be on paper anywhere, Reid admitted that Bel Coro is largely geared towards female voices, although men are not unwelcome. She just rarely has male singers attend for long, especially as she finds it hard to build an arrangement for just one male voice.
“The men's voices really stick out. If I had enough men to have a whole men's part, it would be different,” said Reid. “I haven't said it's only for women, but that's kind of how it's ended up being.”
Bel Coro is just looking to enjoy singing for the fun of it. Reid encourages more people to stop by one of their weekly practices at the library and see what it’s like, and to appreciate the benefits of recreational singing.
“It's a really joyful thing, I don't think you can sing and be down,” said Reid. “You're breathing good so you're getting lots of oxygen, and you're making — mostly — beautiful sounds, and it's just about the joy of making music.”
