It took Trudy Shrigley one rehearsal to know she belonged with the Coeur d'Aleers.

"You can't stop me from singing," the Spirit Lake woman said, smiling at the other performers during a rehearsal break on Tuesday. "It's in my bones."

Shrigley, one of the newest members of the 40-year-old singing group, has proven that all before.

Especially in the '70s and '80s, when she lived in Germany and then Japan, where she taught music and sang with choirs that performed in other languages.

Anywhere life takes her, she explained, music is a staple.

"If I don't have music in my life, it's rather bland," said Shrigley, who started singing in a church choir at 10. "I gravitate toward music."

A retired teacher and semi-retired CPA, Shrigley lived in Japan from 1980 to 1985, when her husband, Ralph Shrigley, was stationed there as a military attache.

Juggling the basic Japanese she knew, she said, she sought every musical opportunity she could, wanting to be involved.

Her efforts included teaching music at a boys' school in Yokohama, and at a music school in Tokyo, where her students ranged from 3 to 26 years old.

Music was an opportunity to immerse herself, the 65-year-old explained, especially in an era in Japan when women were viewed as inferior.

"Most had only been introduced to foreigners through books. It was an interesting thing for them to see somebody, especially with blond hair, totally unlike them, who could speak their language," she said, adding that she taught English songs and translated their meanings. "They were very receptive to my instruction. They weren't afraid of me."

She had been groomed for the position, she added, after working as a music teacher in Wurzburg, Germany, where her husband was then stationed.

"I would volunteer in their Department of Defense school," she said. "They had one music teacher for kindergarten through sixth grade, and that was just very difficult for that person to be spread so thin, so I volunteered."

In both countries, she sang with choirs that performed in their native tongues, she added, though she wasn't fluent in either language.

"It was not as difficult as you might think," she said with a chuckle. "They tell me people who have an ear for music pick up languages more easily than others. I didn't have difficulty with either Japanese or German, because my hearing was very good."

She has already forged strong bonds with her fellow performers at the Coeur d'Aleers, she added, which she joined about a year ago.

The group is tight knit, she said, with no competition. Just a united goal to create lovely sounds.

"The singing is important, but its backed up with this wonderful aura of camaraderie," she said. "The Germans have a good word for it: Gemutlikeit."

Women of all musical backgrounds bring out the best in each other at the Coeur d'Aleers, said board chair Pat Connell.

"Our director (Rose Dempsey) is so outstanding. She has stretched everyone in the choir," Connell said. "She has worked relentlessly with all of us to do the best we can."

The upcoming spring concert, "Do I Hear a Waltz," will feature classical pieces, nostalgic tunes, a waltz, an anthem and more.

"We sing a real variety of music," Connell said.

Darlene Blomgren, a five-week freshman of the Coeur d'Aleers, said she was attracted to the group because it donates ticket proceeds to the 3Cs charity, and also performs at retirement homes.

"I like doing something worthwhile for the community," said the Coeur d'Alene resident, who used to travel with an international missionary group.

The spring concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Lutheran Church of the Master in Coeur d'Alene.

Tickets are $8 each, or $15 for two. Proceeds will go toward the 3 Cs charity.

A raffle during intermission will also raise funds for the nonprofit.

"We usually have a full house," Connell said. "I think that we are the best women's chorus in the area."

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If you go

• The Coeur d'Aleers spring concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Lutheran Church of the Master in Coeur d'Alene. Tickets are $8 each, or $15 for two.