A cappella

My a cappella singing really started when a dear friend asked me to sing at her wedding. At the time we were both living in Santa Barbara, but I was moving to New York City, and the wedding was going to be in South Carolina. We drove around Santa Barbara in a torrential downpour looking at bridesmaid and wedding dresses. It was raining so hard we frequently had to pull over or get washed off the road, the windshield wipers were useless. Afterwards everything was emerald green. Then I left paradise for New York City.

I arrived in New York City on Saint Patrick’s Day 1980. It was raining too, but it was freezing, dark, unknown. Michael picked me up from the Kennedy airport at 11:00 at night and took me to his parents’ home in Bayside. It was late, it was awkward, and they had waited up to meet me. I am so sure they were wondering what their son was bringing home. Innocence is truly bliss. They lived in a 3 story house in Bayside, Queens. After they had gone to bed Michael and I had went up to the third floor to talk. It was a garret room, cozy and warm with March rain falling outside. At around two in the morning we heard music. Their neighbor was a NYC cop, and his buddies, all Irish, all drunk, were serenading his family and us on bag pipes with “Amazing Grace”, and it was, my first night in New York City.

The song my friend had asked me to sing was The Impossible Dream, from the play The Man of La Mancha. A difficult song to sing without music, happily I did not know that. The only place to practice was in the garret. So I sang it over and over in a tiny room without any acoustics, having no idea how it would sound.

When I arrived in South Carolina everyone was so accommodating and fun, a wonderful introduction to the south. I was the maid of honor, and the plan was I would walk into the church alone and in the middle of this church, with the bride coming in after me, I would stop and sing. I was terrified and was sure I would open my mouth and nothing would come out. My legs were shaking so much I wasn’t sure I could walk, and was thankful I was wearing a long dress. At the appointed time, I walked into the church, stopped, closed my eyes, and sang. My voice filled the room, the church had amazing acoustics. I believe it was the first time I’d ever heard myself sing. Energy started tingling at the top of my head and all the while I was singing it traveled up and down my spine with the most incredible pleasure. I have always believed that Spirit was singing through me, with me, blessing me and everyone else that day. When I was done, I opened my eyes and looked around the room, everyone was crying. I was shaking and euphoric, I also knew I could not take full credit for it, and that I would do anything to have that sensation again. It was an incredible experience, one that left me feeling like I had purpose in my life with music, with Spirit, even if at the same time I had no idea how it could manifest itself.