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connielane at 09:41am on 08/08/2005
connielane at 09:41am on 08/08/2005Friday night, I drove downtown to go to the first of four reunion events this weekend. The reunion was for all former members of the McGavock (and Donelson) High School Madrigal Singers who sang under the direction of Robert Binkley. He taught chorus, madrigals, and music theory for 30 years (most of them at McGavock). He retired from teaching in 1992 (my senior year) and this weekend marked his retirement from everything else (voice lessons and church choir directing).
I could do a hundred nostalgia posts about Mr. Binkley and my time in Madrigals - the time we sung in Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, VA and got a standing ovation; the days my hellion friends and I would skip school and hang out in Binkley's office all day; how I inherited much of my perviness from Mr. Binkley (who used to tell us "It's pronounced 'VIR-GIN'. You ought to at least know how to say it."); how we used to sing EVERYWHERE we went, as long as we had four parts; how it was always someone's "birthday" (read: chance to get free cake and have people sing to you) whenever we went out to eat together... yeah, I shouldn't even get started.
Here's a pic, though.
That's me on the left, with the other two Second Sopranos, Dawn (middle) and Janae (right).
When I got to the reception Friday, I was surprised to see so many people from the early years - many of whom I used to go to church with and whose children were my peers. Mr. Binkley shouted my name across the room and I rushed over to give him a huge hug. I didn't stay long, because the room was small, crowded and hot. Plus, I had a date with the Dukes. :P But I did manage to see several familiar faces. And, errr, to drool a bit over my junior high principal's son (who must be nearly 40, but who looks about 20 - GUH!). Seriously, I think I stuck around a few minutes just to have an excuse to look at him.
The next morning, we gathered again for a rehearsal so that we could put a program together for the concert that night. We stayed far longer than we intended, but we managed to find around 10 songs that we could sing - pretty remarkable, since most of us had never sung with most of the rest of the group and many of us hadn't seen the music in a few decades, if ever. I, like the dork I am, still had all the songs we ended up singing that night memorized. There was a lot of "student director syndrome" - people trying to "help" Mr. Binkley conduct the rehearsal (read: show how much they know about everything and try to be in charge). This was an all-too-familiar circumstance from high school days, and I had not missed it at all.
When the rehearsal finally ended, I went home to have lunch, take a nap, and get dolled up for the concert. Well, as dolled up as I could get. :P We all met at Christ Church cathedral - the old church where we always used to have our spring concert - and figured out where we could stand. Back in the old days, our Madrigal groups were usually no larger than 15-18 people, and we would stand in one long arc. But there were 70 people singing Saturday evening, so the arc concept was out. We ended up standing in a huge block, in sections (back in the day, we mixed all the voice parts up for an improved blend), and shuffled our music between songs.
Having listened to an entirely-too-long intro from a former student, we got up and sang. Very well, if I do say so myself. The sopranos outnumbered all the other voice parts, so we were all singing very quietly so as not to drown the others out. I got to sing my old solo, "So blest a sight", with five or six other women who had also sung it when they were in Madrigals. We premiered a piece that had been written especially for Mr. Binkley, and we closed the concert with the song that closed every spring concert back in the old days - Paul Manz's "E'en So, Lord Jesus Quickly Come." There's something very touchstone-y about that song for all of us, and it was particularly poignant to think that that was the last time I'll ever sing that song in that building.
After the concert, we hung out a bit in the sanctuary. My junior high principal (mother to the guy I couldn't stop staring at the night before) was there, and talking to her was one of the highlights of the night. She's a special, classy lady, and when I had a rough experience in 7th grade, she made time to be a confidante for me. I'll never forget that as long as I live.
When we were finally kicked out of the church, we went to the "after-party." I spent most of the evening chatting with two of the girls I was in Madrigals with. We looked at old pictures and snarked about the people we used to hate. I also took a few minutes to talk with an old college roommate and family friend who simply had to talk to me about Harry Potter and kept asking me "What's going to happen with Snape?" So the night wasn't without it's share of fannish geekiness. :)
All in all, it was a good experience. I didn't feel as inferior as I thought I would, and it was easier to talk to people than I imagined. It was great to see people, and gratifying to know that they were glad to see me. Madrigals is one of my favorite memories of high school, and this weekend was a wonderful way to sort of conclude it.
I could do a hundred nostalgia posts about Mr. Binkley and my time in Madrigals - the time we sung in Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, VA and got a standing ovation; the days my hellion friends and I would skip school and hang out in Binkley's office all day; how I inherited much of my perviness from Mr. Binkley (who used to tell us "It's pronounced 'VIR-GIN'. You ought to at least know how to say it."); how we used to sing EVERYWHERE we went, as long as we had four parts; how it was always someone's "birthday" (read: chance to get free cake and have people sing to you) whenever we went out to eat together... yeah, I shouldn't even get started.
Here's a pic, though.
That's me on the left, with the other two Second Sopranos, Dawn (middle) and Janae (right).
When I got to the reception Friday, I was surprised to see so many people from the early years - many of whom I used to go to church with and whose children were my peers. Mr. Binkley shouted my name across the room and I rushed over to give him a huge hug. I didn't stay long, because the room was small, crowded and hot. Plus, I had a date with the Dukes. :P But I did manage to see several familiar faces. And, errr, to drool a bit over my junior high principal's son (who must be nearly 40, but who looks about 20 - GUH!). Seriously, I think I stuck around a few minutes just to have an excuse to look at him.
The next morning, we gathered again for a rehearsal so that we could put a program together for the concert that night. We stayed far longer than we intended, but we managed to find around 10 songs that we could sing - pretty remarkable, since most of us had never sung with most of the rest of the group and many of us hadn't seen the music in a few decades, if ever. I, like the dork I am, still had all the songs we ended up singing that night memorized. There was a lot of "student director syndrome" - people trying to "help" Mr. Binkley conduct the rehearsal (read: show how much they know about everything and try to be in charge). This was an all-too-familiar circumstance from high school days, and I had not missed it at all.
When the rehearsal finally ended, I went home to have lunch, take a nap, and get dolled up for the concert. Well, as dolled up as I could get. :P We all met at Christ Church cathedral - the old church where we always used to have our spring concert - and figured out where we could stand. Back in the old days, our Madrigal groups were usually no larger than 15-18 people, and we would stand in one long arc. But there were 70 people singing Saturday evening, so the arc concept was out. We ended up standing in a huge block, in sections (back in the day, we mixed all the voice parts up for an improved blend), and shuffled our music between songs.
Having listened to an entirely-too-long intro from a former student, we got up and sang. Very well, if I do say so myself. The sopranos outnumbered all the other voice parts, so we were all singing very quietly so as not to drown the others out. I got to sing my old solo, "So blest a sight", with five or six other women who had also sung it when they were in Madrigals. We premiered a piece that had been written especially for Mr. Binkley, and we closed the concert with the song that closed every spring concert back in the old days - Paul Manz's "E'en So, Lord Jesus Quickly Come." There's something very touchstone-y about that song for all of us, and it was particularly poignant to think that that was the last time I'll ever sing that song in that building.
After the concert, we hung out a bit in the sanctuary. My junior high principal (mother to the guy I couldn't stop staring at the night before) was there, and talking to her was one of the highlights of the night. She's a special, classy lady, and when I had a rough experience in 7th grade, she made time to be a confidante for me. I'll never forget that as long as I live.
When we were finally kicked out of the church, we went to the "after-party." I spent most of the evening chatting with two of the girls I was in Madrigals with. We looked at old pictures and snarked about the people we used to hate. I also took a few minutes to talk with an old college roommate and family friend who simply had to talk to me about Harry Potter and kept asking me "What's going to happen with Snape?" So the night wasn't without it's share of fannish geekiness. :)
All in all, it was a good experience. I didn't feel as inferior as I thought I would, and it was easier to talk to people than I imagined. It was great to see people, and gratifying to know that they were glad to see me. Madrigals is one of my favorite memories of high school, and this weekend was a wonderful way to sort of conclude it.