Everybody Sings ICT returns with 'September'
"Wichita's only one-day choir" returns September 21 with the Earth, Wind and Fire classic.
Nothing makes me happier than singing with my kids. We’ve been in community theater musicals together and spent countless nights on the porch with our instruments. Until this summer, though, we had never been in a choir together. Emma, my older daughter, joined me June 14 to try out Everybody Sings ICT, billed as “Wichita’s only one-day choir.”
With 20 or so other singers, we gathered to sing “Brave” by Sara Bareilles from the musical “Waitress.” Director Mike Mays quickly clocked the voice parts and confidence levels. On the fly, he simplified a few phrases, skipped over a few complicated measures, and found soloists — including Emma. Within a couple hours, we were joyfully letting “the words fall out” as we gave a one-song concert to an audience of ourselves, plus one museum staff member drafted to record a video.
“I thought it was really fun!” Emma said later. “I enjoyed getting to meet folks in my area with an interest in music in a low-stakes environment.”
“Most of us are pretty shy about singing publicly, and to cross that bridge together really connects us,” said Elizabeth Cochran, the group’s founder and a self-described “terrible singer who loves to sing.”
Cochran and Mays are hosting another Everybody Sings ICT at 2:30 p.m. September 21 at Harvester Arts. Singers will take on “September,” the Earth, Wind & Fire classic.
“You don’t have to be able to read music. You don’t need to know where your voice fits in the scheme of things,” Cochran said, “You just need to be willing to come try this with your fellow Wichitans.”
Tickets for Everybody Sings ICT are $20 at the door. Cash and Venmo are accepted.
— Seth Bate is a writer and historian based in Winfield, Kansas.
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