For Jodi Cooper, singing with the Manning Valley Concert Band can feel a bit like a dance.
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"I feel like it's a dance between me and the orchestra and I've really got to meet the 30 other players and we can create a bit of magic," she said.
"I want to put on a good show for the people who come to the concert."
One of three vocalists performing at the band's Broadway to Hollywood concert this Sunday, March 31, at St John's Anglican Church, Jodi will be performing Pie Jesu, from a requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Hallelujah, written by Leonard Cohen.
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The songs were selected by the band's musical director Roger Griffiths, and it will be the first time she's performed both publicly.
"I love the requiem, it feels very ethereal," she said.
"I'll be listening to the orchestra and trying to sing and stay in the moment.
"I usually sing in the key Roger picks. I've got a pretty broad range, a mezzo soprano and seems to be at the top of my range. I just love it. Singing for me is like a meditation, a soul connection."
Jodi said while she did sing Hallelujah when she was younger, this is her first public performance.
"I've always connected with that song. It's got a real reverence to it but a modern reverence that people can relate to."
In preparation for her performance, she started by listening to the version that will be used and then learning the lyrics.
"You read it. It tells a story, and then sometimes I'll write the words out."
Her vocal style is generally pop, jazz, blues and modern music, but she also has a love for folk music, which is "melismatic" (the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession).
Jodi has been singing with the band for about 18 months.
"I'm lucky and blessed to work with the band, who are fantastic and talented - every single one of them.
"I also enjoy working with their professionalism and they are respectful and kind.
"They have a wide range of ages but they are so cohesive because they're trained.
"From teenagers to more senior players who have been playing for many years, it all comes together under Roger's directorship.
"Their concerts are one of my things I do on a consistent basis. It brightens up my year when I sing with them.
"I get the opportunity to sing a wide variety of music and genres and I love that I get to use all my training to sing different genres."
Manning Valley Concert Band presents Broadway to Hollywood at St John's Anglican Church, Taree, on Sunday March 31 from 2pm. Tickets are $10 from Bass'n'Blues Music, in Albert Street, Taree.
Also singing with the band are George Hoad and Lisette De Gray.
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