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Campus Life - Letters from MIT
Bonding through music
By Shin Kuwaki
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音楽を通じて親交を深める
理系のイメージが強いマサチューセッツ工科大学に音楽は似合わない?!そんなことはありません。実は、キャンパスにはあらゆるミュージックグループが存在し、学生たちも積極的に音楽活動をしています。桑木さんもゴスペルの合唱団の一員として、日々練習に励んでいます。音楽活動を通して、新しい発見もあるようです。
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コンサートでソプラノパートを歌った筆者
(右から2番目)
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Our hearts pounded, our foreheads glistened, our throats were dry and our legs sore. The dining hall was packed with people, some on their feet, some waving their hands in the air and others clapping to the beat. We sang to the steady rhythm of the drums and the melody from the keyboard, the sopranos, altos, tenors and basses, fusing with the cheers from the audience and filling our hearts with harmony. The final note briefly lingered in the air and was followed by a great roar of applause. As I stood there staring blankly at the audience, I thought back to my first day of Gospel Choir practice.
I have always been passionate about singing and ever since coming to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) I was desperate to join a music group so I could share that passion. Although you might not immediately associate MIT with music, many students are actively involved in music, and so there was a variety of a cappella groups at MIT to choose from - including the "Toons," the very popular all-male "Logarhythms," and the all-female "Muses" and "Chorollaries." I finally decided to join the MIT Gospel Choir.
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学内で一番人気の男性アカペラグループ
"Logarhythms"
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At the first meeting there were about 15 of us. Everyone was very shy and quiet, and so our director decided to start the meeting with an ice breaker. We formed a circle and went round sharing names, hometowns or home countries, and things that we felt thankful for during the past week. Some of the members were international students from countries like Ghana, Kenya and Indonesia. Others were from familiar places like Chicago and New York.
Waiting for my turn to speak was nerve-racking. When it was my turn, I remember mumbling something about my brother and my cheeks turning pink, but my tension was relieved when the girl next to me smiled and said, "I hope we have fun singing together."
We then learned two songs: "O Happy Day" and "Blessing in the Storm." Singing together was an enlightening and ecstatic experience, especially because the lyrics were so uplifting and the piano playing of our director, a graduate from a music school in Boston, was extremely good. At the end of the meeting, we all joined hands and concluded the meeting with a prayer.
Before joining the Gospel Choir, I was unfamiliar with the practice of praying. However, after being with the group for nearly five months, I began to understand its importance. Other than praying in church or before meals, we prayed for our health, for academic success, for support in times of personal hardship and also for the several performances that we held during the semester. Prayer is not only a religious and cultural practice, but also a way of calming the mind, expressing our care for each other, and also for uniting the group as a choir. Through prayer, I was able to establish new friendships and to truly feel a part of the choir.
All the weekly rehearsing and practicing culminated in the main event of the term: the Fall Gospel Choir Concert, which this year was called "If You Need a Touch." We began preparing flyers and posters nearly a month ahead of time. We also needed to make arrangements for audio equipment, invite guest groups to perform at the event, and most importantly, practice our songs. We also formed prayer partners and found time to pray and give each other spiritual support before the concert. With all this work put into it, the concert attracted nearly 100 people and, in the end, was such a success that it brought our group president to tears.
Shukan ST: Jan. 31, 2003
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