Flash Choir—You're Already a Member

At last week's rehearsal, a dedicated corps of 30+ singers attempted to sight read a new musical composition created by Sarah Dougher, set to one of William Stafford’s poems serving as its lyrics. It’s the last piece of Strangers Together, a collection of ten poems from the Oregon Poet Laureate’s book Passwords, to be performed by Flash Choir on January 22 as part of Stafford’s annual birthday celebration at the First Unitarian Church in the Downtown neighborhood. Our voices crack and crumble but miraculously pull it together by the end of the session. Veteran Flash member Carol Hickman (alto) beams that it’s “such a joy to create with our voices–and quite a challenge coming in [to rehearsal] not knowing anything and two hours later knowing something beautiful.”

Flash Choir members concentrate while sight reading a new piece

This is how Flash Choir operates: turning nothing into something. Founded in July 2007 in the service of the PICA TBA Festival, its ongoing manifestation is led by an inspiring and talented duo that is composer/director Dougher and conductor Pat Janowski. The non-audition choir is free and open to all, and specializes in collaborative pieces and singing for public events.

Dougher has been interested in Stafford's poetry since she was introduced to it as a student. In previous creative work, she set some Robert Duncan poetry and prose to song (Caesar's Gate, performed by Flash Choir at various venues), which was a much more abstract, difficult project. “Stafford's poems are much more song-like in their original state—shorter, more regular. I wanted to see what I could do with them.” She finds the poetry compelling, too, with an interesting parallel connecting our group. "Our choir is made up of strangers who come together through this singing project, and I wanted to honor that project too.”

Sarah Dougher reads a Stafford poem to the choir, conductor Pat Janowski (R)

Your life you live by the light you find
And follow it on as well as you can,
Carrying through darkness wherever you
Your one little fire that will start again.
(From Passwords/The Dream of Now)

The Stafford project, sponsored by the Regional Arts and Culture Council, engages his work in an exploration of “particular poems dealing with human connection to animals and the divine, as well as human connection with other humans.”

Even as you are dying, a part of the world
Can be your own—a badger taught me that,
With its foot in a trap on the bank of the
Cimarron.
(From Passwords/You Don’t Know the End)

Strangers Together attempts to engage audiences in a different way, too. Dougher adds that “most experience poetry sitting, silently, reading. The choral rendition of these words in a public space will create an opportunity for communal listening, and perhaps, a new way of hearing and understanding the work of Oregon's Poet Laureate.” She likes more collaborative performances when audiences are challenged in this way but also enjoys that her pieces can “come together and get a voice. I'm glad we have the flexibility to do both.”

Our group of flexible strangers is a rare mix of people who connect around a love of singing. Jennifer Allen (alto) has always enjoyed belting it out (mostly in the car) but feels that when it’s “done in conjunction with others there’s incredible pleasure involved. It creates a meaningful and different kind of conversation.” Elie Charpentier (soprano) adds that Flash is a “great group of interesting, smart, fun people with different backgrounds and other talents and projects going on…with such a fondness for one another. Singing together, sharing our spirit vocally, is an intimate, revealing thing. A roomful of us getting goose bumps from the beauty and intimacy and gathering of our voices is…a pretty great way to spend a Monday night.”

Jennifer Allen's "incredible pleasure" is evident on member faces

And our Monday nights for the past eight months or so have been spent learning and hashing through and refining Dougher’s compositions for Strangers Together. Her music is rich and complex, sometimes eerie, sometimes energetic, sometimes romantic yet always original and challenging for everyone. Dougher, who’s been a musician for many years (with an extensive background in both classics and rock and roll), has an interesting process for composing. She usually starts by playing an instrument (piano for the Stafford work) and then finds a melody lurking. Once initially set, she records “it onto my computer, usually phrase-by-phrase, just to get the ideas down” working through the shape of the whole piece. What happens next involves recording melodies, listening, recording harmonies, more listening, layering sounds, writing it with the assistance of Sibelius (a computer program for composers), and then finally bringing this creation to the choir. “Usually there are lots of changes once the choir is singing. That can be both correcting mistakes in the music, or changing parts to fit the voices better, or the dynamics.” Dougher hopes to professionally record the Stafford work for wider public consumption, perhaps making it available for free on the Internet. She is focused on making the score “good and clean” for other choirs, too. In addition to the upcoming performance, she entertains a wild idea—to tour the state, singing at libraries and community centers, bringing original music, celebrated poetry, and community together.

Dougher behind the piano

Singing new, original music is a thrill. “It’s not often you get a chance to sing something that’s perfectly new,” comments Chuck Barnes (tenor). He acknowledges that “there’s a right and wrong way about the music. The challenge is learning the right notes. And then there’s the challenge of being part of a section, and then figuring out how that section relates to other sections…and finally [the challenge of] the entire group to sing correctly and beautifully.” Flash members take this challenge quite seriously. Dougher also outs herself by noting that she’s “not a very good music-writer-downer yet. I hear the music but sometimes it doesn't translate right. So sometimes it takes me a few times to get it. Fortunately the choir and my colleague [Janowski] are very helpful in this process.” 

Janowski has a background in conducting, singing, and performing for various productions (from high school drum major to the Portland Symphonic Choir to Live Wire’s Siren of Sound). She duly notes some additional challenges with the current body of work: “Sarah's compositions are tied tightly to the text, so if there are complex, uncomfortable, or dark ideas in the poem, we find ourselves working with a lot of dissonant chords. Ultimately, this ends up transporting the audience to those difficult but beautiful emotional places; however, it can be challenging for an experienced singer to hold a note dissonant to the person next to him or her. Our singers have a broad range of levels of experience, and so we spend a lot of time working on that concept in particular.”

And they tell us
never
To cry. We’ll die, too, they say, if we
are ever afraid. All night we hold on.
The stars go down. We are never afraid.
(From Passwords/Reading with Little Sister: A Recollection)

As previously mentioned, Flash comes together around our love of music and song. Some of us read music, some don’t. Some write and compose and perform original work; some just sing in the shower. Some understand musical theory; some understand Beyoncé. Janowski agrees that “the greater challenge lies in the variety of levels of experience of choir members…some have never been challenged to rise to the musical levels we are asking them to. But the great advantage we have in the Flash Choir is that the members are so game! There is a uniformly positive attitude, and everyone is willing to attempt whatever we seem to ask of them. Sometimes we fail; sometimes it just takes a lot of work to get there. But Sarah's music is so inspiring and beautiful, and we are all there to bring it to life.”

Backstage at the 2008 Portland Cello Project Holiday Sweater Spectacular
Photo: Friend of Flash Choir

The music truly is beyond beautiful. Each and every time we performed Caesar’s Gate, the hairs on my arms stood at attention. Charpentier, a gifted singer-songwriter, echoes my reaction in prettier words. “Our voices make their way into our hearts immediately and completely through the beauty of the song and our singing…the power in our voices pierces the calluses that shield our senses and emotions.” She continues. “I love the dissonances that appear within the traditional soprano/alto/tenor/bass choral structure. Also like the experimental and collaborative work we’ve done, and look forward to doing more.” Flash has collaborated with The Portland Cello Project, Builders and the Butchers, and others, and has performed at a wide range of venues–rock clubs, colleges, churches, libraries, Pioneer Courthouse Square, festivals. Sharon Eldridge (soprano) is a self-proclaimed “choir person. I like the Flash Choir because a) it's a choir (see above); b) it has attracted some really interesting, fun, nice people; and c) I like the spectrum of stuff we do, from Caesar's Gate to MJ to Justin Timberlake. There is, seemingly, nothing the Flash Choir won't attempt. It's a ballsy, unrestricted choir, and that's pretty rare.”

Janowski conducts the choir in the Pink Martini rehearsal space

It is rare and it is fun. Not only does Flash collaborate with other artists, play original music, rise to pop music challenges, and engage our audiences, but we are fortunate enough to enjoy support from key figures in the music scene. We rehearse in Thomas Lauderdale’s Pink Martini studio, graciously provided to our group free of charge. Both Dougher and Janowski volunteer their time (A LOT of it, at that). We’ve got an eager volunteer who offered to record us for free. Thankfully, for now, money hasn’t been an issue for how the choir operates. Janowski quips that the choir is run like a rock band—sometimes there are paying gigs, and we use that money for photocopying, programs, the occasional accompanist. (Most local choirs are volunteer, and yet require members to pay dues that support music and rights purchases, rental spaces, salaries. There are no salaries for Flash Choir, only fame and glory.)

A giant beaver (a prop from a Pink Martini TBA performance) watches over all rehearsals

I asked both Dougher and Janowski about their vision for the choir when it came together for the opening ceremonies of TBA:07 which involved a wondrous piece by Rinde Eckert engaging 120+ performers and unique avian-like sounds and movements. Neither had a solid plan in mind. Dougher says she “felt more like a steward that anything else.” The choir just happened. To confirm: many of us answered the call to join this pivotal event which in turn fueled Flash Choir formation and what it ideally could be. Our ranks dwindled considerably from that first appearance, but a core group remains steady. Initially, no one was sure about how many people would take interest or be inspired by what we were doing. Most of us had positive musical/choral experiences in earlier days, and knew we wanted to do more of the same, but perhaps couldn’t find an appropriate outlet for musical experiences until Flash. What started as essentially singing for ourselves has developed into a true sense of community. Friendships have formed. Other musical opportunities have emerged. Many of us are participating in things we never envisioned—collaborating on Filmusik projects like Gamera vs. Giron and with Opera Theater Oregon on the 48-hour film festival; performing at Mississippi Studios and the Aladdin. Janowksi observes many Flash members "going beyond their traditional boundaries and exploring creatively in a host of unexpected ways.” It’s really quite cool.

Flash Choir's original performance at TBA:07

Matt Zaffino (bass) concurs that coolness abounds. “I've sung in choirs nearly all my life but it's always been classical. Except for a brief stint singing some rock n roll, which I love, but wasn't very good at.” Like all of us, he is inspired and moved by the contemporary, fresh music we sing. It’s “occasionally flashy…broad-ranging and free-form. It nicely and thoroughly scratches the performing live music itch for me like no other group I've ever sung with. We sing in cool places and sing cool music and are led by two very cool directors/composers. What could be better than that?”

Not much.

I sing, and a song shaped like a bird
Flies out of my mouth.
(From Passwords/Evolution)

For more information on Flash Choir, visit its blog or write: picasing@gmail.com. Flash Choir is a non-audition, open, and free choir.

For more information on William Stafford celebrations throughout the state this month, see: http://williamstaffordarchives.blogspot.com/

Flash Choir performs Strangers Together
Friday, January 22 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Free!

Photos © 2010 Kenneth Aaron, Neighborhood Notes