Since I joined my first choir, singing has been one of my favourite hobbies! Something that’s so great about it is that you can do it anywhere, and boy, do I! Alone in the woods? Time for some acapella! Dishes to do? The perfect opportunity for a one-man show! Once, I had a neighbour in a building with thinner walls than I realized ask me if I was a professional opera singer, which was equal parts flattering and mortifying.

Obviously, with all this singing, I had considered what it would be like to be a professional musician, but the lifestyle that comes with that career just isn’t for me. Still, every time I went to the National Arts Centre, I would dream of performing at Southam Hall with the orchestra. I never seriously thought it was possible until I found out that the NAC uses one of the choirs in Ottawa to perform with the orchestra when needed. Once I learned that, I became obsessed with joining them and singing on that stage.

I spent a few months working hard to prepare for the audition, but when the time came, it was a disaster. My music theory knowledge was way behind where it needed to be. I was given a rhythm sightreading test to clap triplets in 3/8, and I pretty much just applauded the piece of paper. The choir director told me my singing voice was good enough, but I needed to learn some more theory and could try again later.

Part of me wanted to give up. I thought I would never be able to learn all the theory I needed. How could I, a normal person, ever sing at Southam Hall anyway? Then, I went to the National Art Gallery and saw the exhibit at the Rideau Chapel, where each speaker is a different voice part in the choral work Spem in Alium, and I was completely captivated. I decided I needed to sing masterworks like that, and the only way forward was to practice.

Over the next 6 months, I worked harder than I previously thought was possible. I practiced singing for an hour or two most days. I removed all the fun apps from my phone and replaced them with music theory “games”. When audition season came back around, I felt much better prepared. My audition still wasn’t perfect, but it went much better. Everyone commented on how I had improved tremendously, and I was told I could sing Handel’s Messiah in December as a starting point. If I did well, I would be invited to join permanently. My very first concert with the group was going to be at the NAC. Just like that!

Rehearsals for the show started in mid-November, giving me about 1 month to learn 1 hour of the hardest classical music I had ever sung! Luckily for me, my audition prep lifestyle had laid the groundwork for me to spend pretty much all my free time getting better at singing. Initially, I felt a bit like a fish out of water in rehearsal, but I slowly found my footing. While practicing at home, I got to one section and thought to myself, “Wow, this is really hard. I wonder how the real people at the NAC approach this part?” I immediately realized, that’s me! Whether I believed it or not, I was now one of the “real people!” Then I asked my voice teacher for help.

After hundreds of hours practicing and a little over a year of focused work, I found myself on stage at Southam Hall performing two sold-out shows. It was honestly everything I had dreamed it to be! I had the time of my life singing Handel’s Messiah so close to the musicians I admire so much. (I saw one of my favourite members of the orchestra eating a clementine backstage and was reminded that stars are just like us!) Waiting on stage at the end of intermission, I reflected on how much work I had put into making this happen for myself. Honestly, I am incredibly proud of working so hard and improving so much. I feel grateful that all the hard work did pay off. After the show, the choir director let me know that I had done well enough in the rehearsals and performances to join the choir permanently. Singing Messiah this year was just the first of hopefully many performances with the NAC orchestra!

While this journey was personal, there are still a few takeaways that shape how I approach my professional life. Graphic design is a career where you receive a lot of feedback on your work. It’s important to view that feedback as an opportunity for growth, rather than a criticism of you. Even if you aren’t where you want to be, that doesn’t mean you can’t get there. By really listening to feedback and committing to improvement, that hard work will pay off in the end!