My annual Big Sing experience always presents me with a time of reflection on the meaning of life and the purpose of music in our lives. At each concert I have the opportunity to sing for experienced directors who have moved through obvious changes and challenges in their lives and for some who are full of youth, energy and optimism.

I marvel at accompanists’ fingers that never seem to grow slower even though other parts of their bodies have matured significantly. I observe other choruses each year as men who are only faces and tuxedoes to me return to share their love of singing. Greetings are exchanged between men who see each other no more than once a year. Each year the heads are little whiter and a few old timers are missing. It truly is a longitudinal study of the passage of time on a select population.

I’ve been a member of the Staples Area Men’s Chorus since 1972, and I’ve participated in over thirty Big Sings. Hosting the Big Sing presented the wonderful opportunity of showing the Staples community what it is that our chorus attends every April and showing other choruses the incredibly supportive community that we call home. It’s a bit like when your family gets to meet your friends and your friends get to meet your family.

The events of last weekend were the fruits of a five-year process. When some of the chorus visionaries suggested that our chorus put in a bid to host a future Big Sing, I immediately thought of a multitude of reasons why it might not be practical, feasible or even possible. Most of those limitations were solved by renting 235 rooms at Craguns’ Resort which provided a beautiful setting for fellowship, recreation, workshops and the adjudicated concert on Friday evening. Thanks to those gifted with imagination and ambition the 2010 Big Sing was a huge success. I am sometimes astonished to see how well something can be accomplished when people combine their talents and share the results. The Big Sing was one of those events.

The dreamers with their creativity and vision inspired others with the skills to facilitate the plan, develop the details and begin the process of carrying out the vision. Some were workers who took specific tasks and followed them through to completion while others were their helpers. If you were in the audience for the Big Sing concert on April 17, you saw a remarkable product of combined vision and effort. It was wonderful to be a voice in the chorus singing to an attentive and appreciative audience.

The other choruses recognized that we have something pretty special here in our community. Thank you to all who supported the Big Sing through your efforts, your financial support or by your attendance and positive response. My personal thanks go to all the chorus members who worked to make this event a reality, particularly the general chairperson Mike Gold and to Stan Carlson who was my director for thirty-eight years. I have a great deal of optimism and hope for the future as our chorus continues its tradition of singing music that is both entertaining and challenging with a new director and a new accompanist. We are always looking for new members, and we would welcome you to join us in September. Thanks again.
Dave Anderson, Secretary
Staples Area Men’s Chorus