Submitted by David Warder
If you read or heard about the choir workshop with Matt Chittick on February 22nd in Lion’s Head, but didn’t come, it went well. But don’t take my word for it. Check out this feedback that showed up in my Inbox afterwards. It’s like a promo for a movie release!
Amazing!, Loved it so much!, WOW!, Fantastic!, Informative, OMG!, What an amazing difference when we actually (fill in the blank) the way he suggested!, What a wonderful opportunity for our community, I didn’t want it to end, I hope he will come again next year.
Several of those were received repeatedly.
You get the drift. It went very well!
I want to be very clear. The success of the day was not mine. It wasn’t even Matt’s. It was everybody’s. The atmosphere in the room was wonderful. No grumbling about winter or politics. For over 3 hours we were in our own little musical world.
Matt was scheduled to talk to us for an hour about singing technique. He had barely started and the questions started coming at him and that’s how the whole hour went. It was mostly a question-and-answer session. Matt would announce the next topic, a hand would go up. Whenever the questions dried up, he’d refer to his notes and realize he had covered everything for that topic. So, he’d announce another topic and the same thing happened. Everyone was so thoroughly engaged it made for such a relaxed an intimate experience and the time just flew by.
Nobody need ever be intimidated by Matt Chittick. He is so down-to-earth and charming. He builds a connection with people almost instantly.
After a break to stretch, get some water, eat snacks and visit one another, the rubber hit the road.
Three choirs and two individuals took their turns performing for Matt, who then offered some suggestions to improve or change the way songs were delivered. Whether on the platform or listening from the seats, everyone learned a lot from this. Many commented that they were most impressed by the work and exercises Matt did with the individuals.
Matt was extremely thorough with each choir and individual, causing the workshop to run over by about 30 minutes. I think everyone appreciated his attentiveness, patience and guidance. The results were impressive.
So, what next?
Here’s something for you to think about…
After the workshop, a few people mentioned that they wished they had signed up for a chance to sing for Matt, once they heard the difference he could make and experienced how unintimidating he is. I mentioned this to Matt and he has offered, if there is enough interest, to come up to the peninsula occasionally to provide private voice lessons. There would need to be a space that he could use to meet “students” and enough people interested and available on the same day to make it financially feasible for everyone.
If you have a suitable space for hosting voice lessons, or are interested in taking voice lessons from Matt, please let me know (519-793-4015 or davidcharleswarder@gmail.com) by the end of Easter weekend. I’ll let Matt know the level of interest that exists in this part of the world.
Otherwise, stay tuned. Matt and I are working on some workshop ideas for next winter.
