Brandon
I come from a long line of choir directors. My grandfather and my dad both directed choirs for a living. I'm classically trained, and I used to teach piano.
I started directing choirs in high school and at church, and kept at it through college and after. As assistant director of the Oratorio Society of Utah, I held auditions and led rehearsals of choral masterworks. I've also sung in community choirs and musicals.
CommuniTree is a different kind of singing. I won't be stopping us to fix diction or intonation. I may offer the whole group a gentle tip now and then when it helps a song come together, but the point is to enjoy singing together. It's been 18 years since I last led a choir, and I'm a little rusty, which I think will make it easier to relax and sing along with everyone.
When I left the church I was raised in, the old hymns no longer fit what I believed, and I missed singing more than anything. So I've been finding and writing new songs: songs of gratitude for nature and for each other, songs about the wonder of being alive, and songs that remind me how to be present.
I work from home, so I have to make an effort to get out and connect with people. Singing with others opens my heart. It helps me feel connected to myself and to everyone in the room, and sometimes it moves me to tears. I'd love for more people to feel that closeness, however it comes for them.
