Post #13

I remember a few weeks ago when I visited my field site. I went to watch the Varieties Show that all the musical choirs at my school were doing together. I remember the atmosphere being very dark and eerie, the air being very cold, and to top it all off, all the people in the choirs slowly coming onto the stage in a march, clapping slowly with the rhythm of the music. Anyway, as I sat there in the audience, observing the show the choirs were putting on, I began to see why I was in choir in the first place. It gave me a sense of purpose and belonging, as it did the Japanese captors in Sumatra I've found in my research. It made me want to be in choir again, and it also showed me how important choir is to our society today. It gives audiences entertainment, as David Patrick Stearns talks about in his article titled "Donald Nally, and a choir with intelligence,"a heart-warming message, and shows the audience why choir gives people a sense of belonging and purpose, an example being the Japanese prisoners in Sumatra that I stated earlier. 

After the show, I talked to some of the people involved in the show and asked them how they thought the show went. One of the people involved in the show, Zach Dockrey, told me "I thought the show went really well." "I had a lot of fun, especially when I was dancing by myself on stage looking like a complete idiot." One other person, Derek Horvath, who is a member of show choir and a friend of mine, told me "I thought the show went great." "We have a lot of very talented people in choir, and hopefully the audience saw that." In addition to this particular question, I asked him some questions pertaining to my research. I asked him why he enjoyed choir and how does it benefit society. The answer I got from him was not surprising. He said, "I like being in choir because it gives me a sense of purpose, belonging, and a way to make new friends without being judged." "As for how it benefits society, I believe it gives society entertainment, sends them a wonderful message, and shows them exactly why choir is so much fun to be in." The statements Derek told me reminded me of my research and how choir gave the Japanese captors of Sumatra a sense of purpose and belonging and how David Patrick Stearns felt after seeing the musical choir the Crossing, and how excited and amazed he was with the choir's excellent blend and intonation of voices.

After I talked to some of the people involved in the show, I helped the cast tear down the set. Some of the things I had to tear down and load up included monitors, which were very heavy, curtains, which were heavy, long, and a pain in the butt if you didn't fold it right, and lights, which were of all colors and sizes. It was a pain in the butt to do, but I'm a nice guy. 

All in all, the experience was very entertaining and beneficial to my mini-ethnography. I feel the concert gave me a very good example as to why choir is important to have in society, it showed me how it gives people a sense of purpose and belonging, and it showed me why choir is a fun thing to do. I think the experience gives me a very good example I can talk about in my mini-ethnography, and as a result of the experience I had at the field site, I have an urge to be in choir again.