Life Changing Experience

AMIS Women's Choir, Mixed Choir and Honor Band Festival, Dubai, 2013.

After auditioning for two years, this time around, I got accepted to the AMIS Women's Choir Festival which was in Dubai this year. At first, I was a little skeptical about being in the Women's Choir, I thought it would be boring, and would rather be in the Mixed Choir, which was also in the same place. Only ten minutes of rehearsal the first day was enough to prove me wrong, big time.

We entered the rehearsal room, freezing cold because of the air conditioning, excitement fluttering, plastic chairs set up carefully in four rows. As we sat down and started meeting people, amazed at finally being here, although a little sleep deprived, our accompanist started playing the piano intro to Shenandoah, one of the songs from our 8-piece repertoire. Our conductor, whom we've only seen now for the first time, started conducting, and, as if by magic, everyone started singing flawlessly, as if we had been rehearsing together for months. Of course, it needed some polishing, but it still gave me goosebumps. And from that moment on, I knew that there wasn't another place in the world that I would rather be and no other group of people I would rather be with.

Only, it wasn't magic. It was just an incredible organization which brought together very talented and dedicated 70 young women.

The next time I was stunned was when we got together with the Mixed Choir and the Honor Band to rehearse the finale, Arabian Folk Song Suite. Even though we couldn't quite find our entry point after the intro by the band, even in our first run, nearly 400 people from 45 different schools who have never even spoken to each other before, managed to make beautiful music together.

And with the blink of an eye, it was the concert night, with the next, our accompanist was setting up the music for our last piece as the Women's Choir on her music stand, and with the next, we were belting out the high B-flat the sopranos had for the majestic last chord of the Arabian Folk Song Suite. The greatest experience of my life was concluded, never to be forgotten.

This past week, I've met lots of new people, interested in music, made great music with strangers, got to see Dubai for a second time, climb the tallest building in the world, visit the world's largest mall, and most important of all, I got to see how music can unite people from all around the world.