Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

~ Galatians 6:2

Ensemble Means Community

I’m going to let you in on a secret about me: When I first started as the director of the Jones Handbell Choir, the only thing I knew about bells was that they make noise if you shake them hard enough. I would often joke that “a bell is kind of like the voice if you don’t think about it too hard.” I was aware of the daunting task before me and was prepared as I could be for my first rehearsal... and it was rough. I became acutely aware of the gap in knowledge between where I was and where I needed to be in order to serve this ensemble. Was I in over my head? Did I bite off more than I could chew?

The word ensemble sticks in my head, both in a literal and symbolic sense, whenever I make music with others. The word is used to refer to a group of musicians, but looking at its etymology we learn that it actually has nothing to do with music. Ensemble in French simply means “at the same time” or “together.” A hymn just wouldn’t sound as good if each congregation member started singing whenever they wanted in whatever key they wanted. When participating in congregational singing or singing in the choir, watching the hymn leader is crucial not only to the successful making of music, but to the act of uplifting one another through song.

Ensemble means together.

I don’t remember what the exact moment was, but I quickly realized that I didn’t need to have encyclopedic knowledge on handbells or know what “martellato” meant. So, humbling myself, I did what I had done so often before in choir rehearsals: I started asking the other members of the ensemble questions. That was certainly the turning point for me and, subsequently, for the ringers. As our collective trust in one another and our musicality grew, we uplifted one another, together, at the same time. When you spend time with the same group of people week in and week out, it is easy to develop a sense of community with them. Rehearsals aren’t just meant for learning notes and rhythms but for uplifting one another in other ways. Joys and sorrows, laughter and tears — it’s amazing how a group of humans can create community with one another during an hour-long rehearsal.

Together means community.

In Galatians 6:2, Paul writes, “Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” To me it’s as simple as that: Love one another as Jesus has loved us. To bear each other’s burdens is to be a community, to go together at the same time. Being an ensemble, whether musical or otherwise, is the act of uplifting one another, and in doing so, creating something sacred, something exalted. A choir needs a director just as much as a director needs a choir in order to make music. Each of us brings unique talents and abilities to the table that, when combined, can be an inexorable force for good in the world. When we go together, as a community, as an ensemble, we magnify each other’s strengths and become something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ensemble means community.