My Old People's Chorus

My choir director teaches as an adjunct music professor at a local college. At a recent rehearsal, he told us a story about one of his students whose assignment was to read an article about music outreach. The young lady came across a magazine article about community choruses such as the one I sing in and my director directs!! In her comments about the article, the young lady opined that she would not want to be involved with one of those old people choruses.

My director said he let the young lady know in no uncertain terms that her comments were inappropriate, and that sooner or later we all end up at the far end of life. He then listed the virtues of the old people’s chorus, the loyalty of the members, their work ethic, and their dedication…those things that sometimes seem lacking in the young folks of today. She should be so lucky to be involved with an old people’s chorus.

But even with our director’s kind words, it still gave me pause, and brought a tear to my eye. When did I become a member of the old people’s chorus? Am I relegated to watching the Golden Girls on television? Unfortunately, for anyone over the age of 50, society has already buried us in the ash heap. Youth is celebrated now more than ever, in every phase of our lives. Even the Academy Awards went after a “younger demographic” with the broadcast hosted this year by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Both are extremely talented, but who?

I am involved with several arts related projects in the area. One involves a young film maker who is filming a documentary in Youngstown. He has some film experience. He knows some people that count. He may or may not be able to pull it off, but he described to me the project…and it was so far beyond me that I laughed out loud. The Youngstown he lives in and the Youngstown I live in are apparently two different Youngstown’s. I must live in the old people’s Youngstown while the oldest person in his Youngstown is thirty five. This will be interesting if nothing else.

So how does my old people’s chorus stack up? Every Monday night just about everyone shows up for practice, complete with all of our aches and pains. Even in the horrible snow a week or so ago, more than a few showed up for rehearsal. Many come in with limps or bad backs. Many have had serious illness. Some have had major surgery. In my case, it was two years of severe back pain. Yet week after week we hobble into rehearsal. We show up for six performances a year plus numerous on the road gigs. Some members drive back and forth from New Castle in the worst winter weather…in the dark. We perform in hot venues and cold venues. At one church we have to keep our coats on…but we show up nonetheless. We sing in places where the word acoustics doesn’t exist. We sing in nursing homes. We will be singing for veterans. We sing in auditoriums and cafeterias and country clubs and Italian restaurants.

Some members have outstanding voices, and have been able to maintain them through the years. The most I ever had was a barely average choir voice that over the past five years has become weaker and lower…bye bye being a tenor. Some voices have become thicker…some have developed tremolos that must be controlled. Some can’t see the music…and some can’t hear the music. Some continuously lose the music. But they all make music.

Although a lot of our members are over 65, we have many members who are in their fifties…some in their forties…and even an occasional twenty or thirty something. We have accountants, lawyers, nurses, dental assistants, teachers, secretaries, salesmen, political activists and retirees from all walks of life. We have several married couples…always interesting!!! In every sense of the word, this is a community chorus. We have liberals and conservatives, sometimes to the extreme!!! But music bridges the divide. Maybe Congress should have an old people’s chorus!!

I am proud to be a member of my community chorus. From my perspective, it isn’t an old people’s chorus by a long shot. It is a collection of people from all walks of life and all ages coming together in the commonality of beautiful music. It is a respite in a world that sometimes isn’t so pretty. And when you hit that rare choral overtone that resonates around the room, so perfect in every way that it consumes you…you have touched heaven and become addicted…always wanting more…in my old people’s chorus!