Good Evening Dear Reader.
As of today the divorce between Ian Myers and A Clair Voix has been announced. Last Monday members of the Committee came round to see me to discuss the program for the rest of the year.
Since the beginning of the year I have been the new "chef" of the choir A Clair Voix" after the retirement of the previous "chef" who wanted to spend more time travelling. This was done. And there I was with my years of musical training and good will and desire to take the choir to the next level.
I did not want to work like the old chef. I had my own style and was maybe more demanding and introduce different songs. New methods of working. The downside was that this disrupted habits. It made people work a bit more. I was also less tolerant of talking during rehearsals. The beginning of the year started with three concerts. One a month and I organized carolling for December.
One of my mistakes was to present the committee with a perceived "fait accompli" for the carolling; I had asked members what they thought of the idea of doing it etc and wanted to know what people would think. When I had finished the planning stage I presented my project to the Committee. Apparently they resented the fact that I had gone behind their backs. The end result? We raised 770€ for the charity "Restos de Coeur!" And I know the people we sang to certainly enjoyed it.
The last concert we did, 17th December, was on of the best concerts that the choir had ever given. It was in a church and I had the feeling that the Lord was smiling on us. They sang well. It was music. For the first time they were really showing a musicality.
But there was an undercurrent of hostility from the Committee. They wanted a sing song evening every Wednesday night. Nothing serious. As much social as singing. Now and again a concert. It had worked well like that for 9 years so why change. They didn't want to sing in foreign languages. They wanted to sing the songs they had always sang.
I wasn't offering that. I wanted to try and direct them towards music. Towards different kinds of music. Pushing them all the time, and pushing them forwards. Everything I did for them was heading towards that goal.
However. Last Monday the Committee came round as they wanted to have the program for the rest of the year. I gave them my ideas. On Wednesday night the wind was blowing and people were restless during the rehearsal. It was hard getting them to focus. The end result when people were singing well was good. But it was a real effort. So getting back to Monday night I had been gradually feeling more and more resentful towards them and I offered to resign either with immediate effect of at the end of the year. This evening I received a phone call from the Committee saying that they wanted it to be immediate. I said OK.
It feels strange. I wish them luck. In many respects it’s not my problem anymore. But I just wish I could have done more for them.
Only time will tell…
