If you hear a bunch of people joyfully, harmoniously belting out “Happy” by Pharrell Williams at Lonsdale Quay this Thursday, feel free to join right in.
The Impromptu community rock choir has been singing every Thursday evening at the Quay throughout the summer, and this week will be the last chance to join them before they head back indoors for the fall.
The choir is the brainchild of music director Matt Smith and enthusiastic singer Fiona Sizer. The informal, drop-in community group holds weekly events on the North Shore and in Vancouver, inviting anyone to come to any session, pay a small donation and join the fun. It is, however, a real deal choir, with Smith taking members through the songs line-by-line to learn how to blend the melody and harmonies together.
“It’s not a singalong,” said Sizer. “We learn the different parts to it and then we put it all together and sing it all the way through a few times as a final product. … As soon as you start adding harmony parts it gives the song some depth and makes it more fun to learn and sing.”
The group started at West Vancouver’s Silk Purse Gallery, born out of Sizer’s desire to be in a choir despite her complete lack of musical training.
“(There’s) a lack of choirs like that,” said Sizer, who lived in West Vancouver for the better part of the last decade before recently moving to East Van. “I wanted to sing but I had to audition for lots of choirs, I was expected to read music. Even some choirs that said, ‘Oh, you don’t need to do that,’ the first thing that happened when I got there was they’d give me a musical score with all the notes on it. I find that quite terrifying – it’s like a different language to me. We wanted (Impromptu) to be very accessible.”
They also wanted everyone to feel comfortable joining in with Impromptu, including those who, for various reason, may lack confidence in their singing voice.
“A lot of people are told that they can’t sing,” said Sizer. “For whatever reason, people have poked fun at them, or they have no confidence in their singing. We just wanted it to be very, very relaxed. Literally anyone can come along. … It’s just teaching people, line by line. They’re learning by ear, which is the original way of learning music, and then we put it all together. There’s no pressure. … It’s more about having fun and enjoying singing in a group than it is about being perfect singers.”
It’s the “fun” part that is undeniable, said Sizer. Few things are more therapeutic and enjoyable then belting out an upbeat song.
“There’s something about being able to turn off all of your stresses and just focus on singing – it just gives you a real energizing boost,” said Sizer. “There’s something about singing in a group as well. You’re not singing in the car, you’re not singing in the shower. You’re actually sharing that experience with other people. You get a real sense of accomplishment, and pride in what you’re doing. People love it. It’s just very cheery.”
This Thursday’s Impromptu session will start at 6:30 p.m. at the fountain in the Lonsdale Quay plaza. Suggested donation is $5. For more information visit impromptumusic.ca.
