Santa Fe Sings a 'no-guilt singing zone' for all abilities
Apr. 26—Miranda Lind splits her time between Dallas and Santa Fe, and this year the retiree made special accommodations to come back to New Mexico outside of her usual season.
The draw? Lind wanted to participate in Santa Fe Sings, the community day sponsored by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale for singers of all abilities. She sang with Desert Chorale for the first time last year and didn't want to miss a chance to do it again.
"I have sung under a lot of conductors," Lind says. "But in my mind, [Desert Chorale artistic director] Joshua Habermann is the total package in that he plays keyboard brilliantly, he's a tenor, and he's off the charts — tenors are hard to find to begin with — and he conducts so cleanly. There's never any doubt in your mind where he's putting things. He also composes and arranges; working with a choral director like that is just mind-blowing."
Lind, 70, isn't the typical Santa Fe Sings participant.
She holds a master's degree in vocal performance and sang professionally for several years. Lind says she's performed at Radio City Music Hall, singing and dancing alongside the Rockettes.
details
* 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27 (culmination of workshop is a 2 p.m. performance)
* United Church of Santa Fe
* 1894 Arroyo Chamiso Road
* $25 (preregistration required)
* 505-988 — 2282; desertchorale.org
But the last time she sang professionally was 17 years ago. Lind sang with the Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church choir in Dallas for more than two decades and says it's fun to mix it up with Desert Chorale for one day a year.
"If there is any high schooler or junior high [student] or adult within 200 miles of Santa Fe — if they love choral music or want to know what the best of the best is — all they have to do is sign up," she says. "What a gift. In Santa Fe, we have so many cultural entities, and you can't belong to all of them. I'm very grateful for the people who support Desert Chorale."
Desert Chorale board president Catherine Gronquist says she sang in high school and college, and she notes that everyone who comes out for Santa Fe Sings leaves energized.
"Josh does such a good job of making everyone feel welcome," she says. "It's a very joyful experience. Most people do a little work before; some people just walk in and sing. But it's not pressurized. It's a joyful community event."
Gronquist says the event is a "no-guilt singing zone" and that many of the people who participate come out year after year. It's also a friend-making opportunity, she says, and it offers a peek behind the curtain at how a high-level choral group works.
"If you sing at all, you should come," she says. "You don't have to be an expert. You don't even have to be good. You just have to have an open mind and a willing attitude."
