Director continues to bless CL despite crisis

BY Kelly Lopez

Canyon Lake Choraleers director Lorilee Bajema is determined to continue singing, entertaining and bringing people together with music despite “social distancing” and COVID-19. Her love for bringing people together with music is invigorating and she reaches out by way of video to connect with others during this time.

The Canyon Lake Choraleers is a chorale group of men and women who, before the lockdown, came together weekly for rehearsals and would perform concerts for Canyon Lake and the surrounding community. The choir has been singing for 40 years.

Lorilee has been directing the Choraleers for almost three years and the choir has benefited greatly from her direction. Under Lorilee’s leadership, membership has grown to over 40 and musician participation has swelled. The choir has expanded from having only one pianist to boasting an electric guitarist, a bassist, a pianist, a drummer and even a harpist.

Lorilee continues to spread her love of music even during this time of isolation. The choir can’t meet to practice during the current order to stay home, but that won’t stop Lorilee from sharing her gift.

“My ultimate goal is to bring people together with music,” Lorilee said.

That is what she is currently doing on Facebook, playing music and singing for everyone to enjoy. She takes requests and plays their favorites. She also has switched gears for her voice and piano lessons, making them virtual lessons instead. She is currently offering a free first lesson to all Canyon Lakers.

Pei Pei Gunter has been a member of the Choraleers for about a year and she loves singing with the choir. According to Pei Pei, she would not have joined if it was not for Lorilee’s outgoing and warm personality.

“I went with my husband to his Choraleers audition,” Pei Pei said. “I was seated next to his side waiting and Lorilee asked me if I like to sing. She didn’t ask me if I was a good singer. I said ‘Yes!’ and I was welcomed to the group.”

Choraleers president Larry Garland sought out Lorilee to be the Choraleers director. She was a guest director at a few rehearsals and the match was set. She quickly became the choir’s new director.

“She is so good and she demands so much of us,” Larry said. “She makes everyone work hard, but the difference has been phenomenal.”

The Choraleers’ last three concerts have been sold out. The group is considering adding another concert since they have become so popular. The choir’s Christmas concert was a Broadway medley and combined songs from Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables and wrapped up with Bohemian Rhapsody. The concert was extremely well received, Larry said.

Lorilee loves being the Choraleers director as much as they love having her. She said she loves the fact that the group is multigenerational. Members range from 12 years old to singers in their 80s. She also loves that the choir is community oriented, like herself.

A typical rehearsal is held on Monday evening downstairs from the Canyon Lake Library. During normal rehearsal time, Lorilee can be heard saying such encouraging phrases as “Do you guys love this?” and “That’s gorgeous.” She starts practice with vocal warm ups and even some physical exercises. The choir is classified into groups, such as soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass.

During rehearsal, Lorilee energetically moves from one group to the next, moved by the sounds of the choir in order to magically hone its sounds. Lorilee, having perfect pitch, can easily move from one section to another and even sing each part in order to demonstrate what each person needs to do.

Rehearsals are full of encouragement and fun. She directs choir members to “create a thunderstorm,” as she snaps and claps her hands energetically. She uses imagery to help the choir members visualize the sounds that they need to replicate.

“From the ground up, bring some soil with ya,’” Lorilee said during one rehearsal to help choraleers get just the right sound. “You’re just still water, like you want to go skiing on,” she said to the bass section to help keep it on one note.

Lorilee is not just about compliments and kindness, though. She takes her choir directing very seriously. Even though she sees her choir as a family, she can be heard frequently shushing her choir members in order to get their undivided attention. Lorilee is so tuned into the sounds of the Choraleers, she can easily pick out and then correct an inaccurate note, word or inflection.

“I had music my whole life,” she said. “My mom taught me piano at age 4.” She remembers singing three-part harmony with her sisters when she was 6 years old. She realized at a young age that music was the common thread among her and many people in her life.

When she was in high school, her choir teacher suspected she had perfect pitch and sent her to the band teacher to learn some music theory. When Lorilee entered college she studied music theory and she said “it was like they were speaking my language.”

Lorilee studied music at the University of Puget Sound and Moody Bible Institute. She realized when she was at Moody Bible Institute that she loved conducting and arranging music. Later in her life she went on to study music at Trinity College of Music in the United Kingdom. She received her Master’s in Music Theory there. She was also part of the renowned Halle Choir while in England.

Her most recent accomplishment is being awarded a seat with the famous Angel City Chorale. It is a 180-voice choir in Los Angeles.

Only three altos were added for the season and Lorilee was one of them. She was also asked to be a section leader, which means she is a director for her section of the choir.