I distinctly remember when I decided to join the Treble Chorus of New England. My mom had mentioned it to me several times before in passing, but I never thought I would actually join. Something inside of me clicked, however, on a September day in 2004. I was in the car outside Dunkin Donuts with my mother when a woman whose daughter was in the chorus started talking to us. That woman suggested I join, and for some reason I still don’t know, I was inspired to and told my mother that on the drive home.
The days leading up to my audition for the Treble Chorus I was very anxious. My worst fear was singing in front of someone I didn’t know, and then being rejected admission and embarrassed. I had many, many doubts about auditioning, but I knew I couldn’t back down. I was shaking when I first starting singing for the director of the choir, but I managed to get through the song. To my surprise, I was accepted at their intermediate level. Immediately, my confidence soared. The first rehearsal was difficult because I was very much out of my comfort zone. I didn’t know anybody in the group, and I was very shy. My first year in the Treble Chorus was very trying. I didn’t talk to anyone, but I enjoyed performing. I didn’t think my voice was anywhere near up to the level of my fellow members, but I still decided to audition to be a part of the chorus for the next year.
Eighth grade was a tough year in school, but I finally came into my own with the Treble Chorus. A girl from my school joined, and I started talking to the other kids in the group. I discovered that unlike the people in school, these kids weren’t snippy or judgmental. That eighth grade year was a huge growth year for me. I found out that I could have real friends, not fake friends, and the kids from Treble Chorus proved that to me. I also was able to be proud of an activity I did after school. Prior to joining the chorus, my only other outside of school activity was soccer. I enjoyed it, but being on the lowest level team when everyone around you is in the highest isn’t something to brag about. I was able to tell my classmates about how I sang at Symphony Hall in Boston, and that I was on TV in China as part of a New Year celebration.
I believe that being a part of the Treble Chorus of New England helped me immensely for the transition into high school. That summer, I learned that I had been accepted into the advanced choir, the highest level in the group, Schola. I was still a very shy girl, and not a fan of change. Although I didn’t know how my freshman year was going to go or how I was going to make friends, TCNE remained constant. It was the one extracurricular for me that carried from middle school into high school.
In high school, I have become a leader and a risk taker, and I absolutely credit that to my experience with the Treble Chorus of New England. I have become a much more social person, and although I still have shy sides to my personality, I am able to overcome them. Truly I have blossomed. I have led retreats, and I was recently elected to the office of Vice-President of my high school’s Theatre Guild. I never would have had the confidence to leave my comfort zone and go on my first retreat or audition for my first high school show without the Treble Chorus. Although my confidence has grown exponentially, it is still growing. Sometimes I still feel like I can’t sing as well as my fellow members, and it was only this past year when I first auditioned for a solo in the winter. I didn’t get it, but I didn’t give up like I would have a few short years ago. I auditioned for another one in the spring and got it. I had butterflies in my stomach during the performance, but I was confident that I could sing it and it would go successfully. When I first auditioned for the chorus and got in, that was the first true success I felt in life. I was proud of myself for one of the first times. The risk of trying out was the best thing I have ever done in life, and it has opened up so many doors, in the area of performing arts and in the rest of my life.