Also known as Sicilian Honey Garlic, Allium Siculum, Mediterranean Bells, and more, these flowers are easy to grow, undemanding and beautiful.
Look at the flowers carefully. Some are open, some are opening and some are still closed. Some are looking forward, others still looking at the ground trying to hide behind the more confident bells.
The singers in my choirs are so similar. Some are confident and want to open up wide to the world, to have their voice heard and sing out strong. On the other end of the spectrum we have youth who have lost their confidence as they move from childhood to adolescence, where they are happy to hide behind the mask, and not have their own voice stand out.
Each singer is in a different place in their development. I have watched the shy kids gradually gain confidence and grow into leaders who lead by example. At the same time I have seen the toll that the pandemic and the many months behind the Zoom screen have taken on these young people. The younger, pre-adolescent singers seem to be much more resilient and mostly sing out with confidence. The singers in the teen group are far more fragile, and some have lost the confidence they had gained before the pandemic.
This photo reminds me that I can’t force each singer to blossom at the same rate, but with patience they will each find their own voice.
Reflections 