Mary-Anne
New member host
and soprano voice representative
Mary-Anne is recently retired from a career in local government and lives in Matlock Bath with her husband and two sprocker spaniels. She enjoys running and walking in the local area.
“I’m Mary-Anne and I joined the Fishpond Choir three years ago, with absolutely no choir experience or music-reading skills. I’d always fancied joining a choir and when I moved into the area and heard about this one, I thought it was time to give it a go. It was at a time when my work was quite stressful, and the choir was an enormous help in keeping things in perspective, giving me a sense of release and boosting my confidence.
Everyone was really welcoming, but looking back I was pretty naive and had no idea what to expect. I have to be honest that in the first session I felt completely out of my depth. I didn’t even know my way around a piece of music – it was like a foreign language. The choir was singing some pieces they knew well, whilst I had to learn everything all at once and get to grips with what felt like a million pieces of music, but gradually, with everyone’s encouragement, including from our wonderful musical director Claire, everything started to fall into place.
I was so proud after my first performance and the rowdy, celebratory singing in the pub afterwards was joyous!
Three years later, I have learnt to read music, put myself forward for ensemble pieces and love the variety of music we learn and which I would never have experienced without the choir.
My confidence has grown and I look forward to our concerts. Singing keeps me fit (all that deep breathing and standing up and sitting down!) and it really keeps my brain busy. I have made new friends, feel part of my community and have found a passion for music that I know I will never lose.”
