Life as a Chanticleer "newbie"

What's It Like, Being a Member of Chanticleer?

Ben Johns, Education Director and former ensemble member, answers

questions about life as a Chanticleer singer.

What are the biggest challenges during the first month of singing with Chanticleer?

When a singer first joins the Chanticleer ensemble, a lot of things happen all at once.  At first, the tasks are mostly logistical: finding a place to live in San Francisco (maybe not as easy as it sounds), moving, perhaps selling your car, wrapping up your job or school work, and notifying friends and family of this great change in your life.  For me, the shock of actually making it into the group fueled both an intense excitement and disbelieving wonder....

Then the work starts.  In the first week of rehearsal we must have read through 50 pieces of music…not much of it easy. I learned the value of listening.  The first month is a time when your musical strengths and weaknesses become starkly apparent – to you and the rest of the ensemble.  Your personal quality tends to show as well. The experience radically affects your relationships, including those with your new band of brothers.  Add to that the culture-shock of San Francisco and you might get a frayed new ensemble member.  The good news is that the gentlemen of Chanticleer all go through it, understand and support the emerging musicians.  Soprano Michael Match offers his fresh perspective on the experience:

“The biggest challenge for me has been just plain fitting in--and that means vocally as well as socially…Chanticleer is like a family since there is SO much time spent rehearsing, performing, and traveling together. Fitting oneself into an entity that ALREADY works so masterfully is extremely intimidating and challenging, especially since there are only two of us new to the group this year. I have also quickly come to realize that for years I've simply been ‘singing,’ and now I'm really aiming at ‘making music’ with these 11 other artists. There are so many more layers to consider above just text, pitches and rhythms.

Pulling it all together to keep up with everyone isn't easy! But that family has already been extremely encouraging and supportive, making these challenges a little less difficult each day. It's simply an amazing opportunity to grow as a musician and a person and to be able to share that with others.”