Season 18… and we’re off with a bang!

Well… that was a rather wonderful way to start a new season.

Last night was our very first rehearsal of Castle Voices Season 18, and I’m still feeling buoyant after it. There were 53 people in the room - our biggest first rehearsal ever(!) - which is both thrilling and a little alarming when you realise that means 53 people potentially noticing when you count everyone in incorrectly, or sing the wrong part 🤣

There was the inevitable catching up and excited chatter before the raft of new lyrics on screens working out if you should sing alto or soprano and swapping between the two, and the general “Where am I supposed to stand and what exactly am I supposed to be singing her” feeling of the first week.

But underneath all that was a real sense of magic in the room. And that is something so special.

We started, as we always do, with some fun warm-ups involving voices, bodies and brains all attempting to work together….I say attempting….

Then we opened up the chests and lungs with some humming of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” And oh my goodness.

The sound.

It was warm, rich and full - that gorgeous Castle Voices sound that I’ve missed over the summer. There is something incredibly satisfying about standing in front of a room full of people and hearing all those individual voices begin to knit themselves together into one big sound.

It made me very, very happy.

It also made me briefly forget that, five minutes earlier, I had been a bag of nerves having my own first day back nerves and trying to persuade everyone that I was a calm collected MD! (Yes, I get nervous too….)

Then we got stuck into the new repertoire.

First up was “Let the River Run,” that long time CV favourite and gloriously big 80s power ballad. I’ll confess, I wasn’t entirely sure how many people would know it - and it turned out that quite a few didn’t! But within minutes everyone was throwing themselves into it, and I think we may have another big, dramatic Castle Voices number on our hands.

As well as the enthusiastic singing I could see a lot of nervous and slightly panicked faces as if to say, “Is this the bit where we come in?” and “What was the note again?”

But that’s what first rehearsals are for. I promise it gets more familiar as the term goes on.

We then tackled “All Around My Hat,” using the brilliant Status Quo version. This one has some lovely three-part harmonies, and even on a first rehearsal - when notes are occasionally still wandering around looking for their correct homes - it sounded folky, robust and gloriously full of energy.

And then, because there is no better way to finish a first rehearsal than by getting everyone moving, we ended with “September.”

It wasn’t just a singalong. I sent everyone off in different directions around the room, with the aim of making sure that people ended up meeting and talking to someone they didn’t already know.

There was much laughter.

There was awkward dancing.

There may have been some people who had absolutely no idea where they were going.

There were also a few moments when I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going, but fortunately I was able to disguise this as “encouraging participation.”

And there were 53 people getting to know each other. (The name labels helped) which was particularly useful when suddenly surrounded by a room full of new faces. And there were plenty of those - which is hugely exciting. I’m still working on remembering everyone’s names, so if I greet you enthusiastically next week and call you something completely different, please know that it is meant with warmth.

I came away from the rehearsal feeling genuinely excited about the term ahead.

There’s lots to look forward to: new songs, new people, new harmonies to wrestle into submission… and, looming happily on the horizon, our Christmas concert in the Showbar.

But before we get anywhere near Christmas, there is plenty of music to make.

And after last night, I have a feeling Season 18 is going to be a good one.

Thank you to everyone who came along.

Whether you’ve been singing with us for years or this was your very first Castle Voices rehearsal, you helped make that room feel like something special.

Now… where did I put those kazoos….?

Not yet, Becs.

Not yet.