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Sing Yo' BusinessAugust 06, 2010 Come to the workshop with Melanie DeMore and be part of the Instantaneous Community Chorus for the Thursday night concert? Talk about no-brainers. Everybody who's been able to sing with Melanie -- and that would include just about all the students in the Martha's Vineyard public school system, and quite a few adults -- has raved about her. Plus she's part of Linda Tillery's Cultural Heritage Choir, two of whose CDs I have. When we gathered at the M.V. Public Charter School Tuesday evening at six, Melanie was wearing a T-shirt that read "Say Yo' Business" -- the title of one of those CDs. We filled the main hall at the school, sopranos on one end, altos on the other, tenors and basses in the middle. Melanie warmed us up, managing at the same time to encourage us both to loosen up and to pay attention. All the teaching was oral -- and physical! We sang, we clapped, we said what Melanie was saying while she was saying it -- this wasn't a "repeat after me" exercise either. It doesn't sound possible, but trust me, it is. The summer's prevailing humidity was back with all its sultry weight, and despite the ceiling fans high above the air inside was -- well, sort of like wearing Travvy's fur coat. The word "funky" was heard here and there, always with a laugh or a grin. Several of the songs I knew from singing with Roberta Kirn at her informal gatherings and the winter holiday concerts she's been leading for several years. One was Melanie's own "On the Wings of Grace," which she wrote during her sister's passing a year ago. Another was Ziggy Marley's "Give a Little Love." Melanie orchestrated some serious magic with "Now Let Us Sing," which has several parts of its own (I was singing second alto), but she added in several spirituals -- I was in the "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" group -- and she cued us when to switch from one song to the other. After almost two hours we went off into the twilight, energized for Thursday night's concert. The concert was in Union Chapel, a wonderful place to sing. The building occupies its own little island at the foot of Circuit Avenue, and being sort of hexagonal or maybe octagonal it's got several doors. If you don't remember which one you entered through, you can get seriously turned around. I parked over behind the church and entered through the door with a temporary metal platform over the steps: easy to tell from the others. The event was a benefit for Zambia Is Us, a locally organized effort supporting several projects involving women and disabled children in Zambia. It included a silent auction of African crafts and jewelry. Suesan Stovall was the opening act -- a soulful singer with a powerhouse voice, sometimes singing a cappella and other times accompanied by Jeremy Berlin on Piano. The silent auction was wrapped up during the intermission, after which Melanie sang several songs solo, accompanying herself on guitar. Then the Instantaneous Community Chorus crowded onto the not-very-large stage, not knowing exactly what to expect -- but the singing rose to the high ceiling, with all its rhythms and harmonies, and of course Melanie got the audience singing, and all of us dancing, before it was over. It was pretty wonderful, and energizing. What Melanie manages to catalyze among disparate people in a very short time is amazing, and inspiring, and encouraging in all the best ways. Both at the workshop and during the concert she talked about singing her sister through her last six days on the planet -- music can be such an integral part of our daily lives, not just something we download or play or go to hear. This morning I had to go to the Ladyslipper Music website to see if the Cultural Heritage Choir had any more CDs out. Wonder of wonders, there's a brand-new one, so of course I ordered it, along with two Susan Werners and a Kate Campbell I've been wanting for some time. Listening is good too.
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