You sound like a sick cat.
You're off-key.
You couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
Don't quit your day job.
If you've ever heard any such nasty comments about your singing voice, Maria Todaro has an urgent message for you.
"It's not true that you can't sing," says Todaro, CEO and General Director of Florida Grand Opera. "If you can speak, you can sing."
And FGO now has a safe space where you can prove that to yourself — the company's new Community Choir in Miami.
Florida Grand Opera is rolling it out as part of its 85th Anniversary season.
READ MORE: "A hub of hope." What Miami means to Florida Grand Opera's General Director
Todaro, who started her first choir at age 18 in her native France, says she has seen first-hand the transformative power of group singing.
"It is a healer," she says. "Singing together heals on a community level, on a social level, on an emotional level."
Todaro stresses that you don't have to know a thing about opera to join the choir, as several music genres will be studied and sung.
Registration is on-going, all ages are welcome, no audition is required, there is no set number of "spots" within the chorus and it's free to join.
Todaro says she hopes the new choir will attract what she calls her "favorite person" — someone who has been told from childhood that they can't sing.
"It's devastating," she says. "The voice is part of your personality. It's part of your identity. And so, people that have been told this — there is a broken piece that needs to be restored in them."
So what should people expect once they sign up and show up at choir practice?
"A lot of fun," says Todaro. "And a lot of self-discovery."
Registration is now open to join Florida Grand Opera's
Community Choir. Prospective members may write to mtodaro@fgo.org to sign up or ask questions. Sessions take place on Thursdays, beginning Sept. 24.
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