The Sound of Silence

I've never been a shusher before. You know, the confident, authoritative "Shhh!" that makes everyone stop what they're doing and hush.

On Thursday night, Chorale plus all of the other choral groups at Tech joined the Orchestra in the Hallelujah Chorus. As we waited backstage, the murmur of voices gradually escalated into something more. It was highly likely that we were heard - plus, the cardinal rule of performance is no talking backstage - so I decided someone needed to instigate the shush. That someone was me. It started off pretty weak, since I was caught up in trying to shush and control my laughter at the same time, but eventually it grew stronger, other people joined in, and the whole of Tech's choral system became deathly silent and looked at the stage door in anticipation. Mission accomplished.