In January of this year, the Editor-in-Chief and the Creative Director of this publication both alerted me to the possibility of joining a gathering of singers. Ethel Winslow and Paula Nicewanger are “long-suffering earwitnesses to my outbursts of song,” and pointed me toward a more structured singing experience with The Irvington Arts Collective. Dr. Webb Parker, the Founding Executive and Artistic Director of the Irvington Arts Collective, and the Director of Music for the Irvington Presbyterian Church, had placed advertising in the Weekly View, seeking singers for a group named “Harmony Collected.” After some initial hesitation, (which lasted approximately 2/10ths of a nanosecond), I went into the basement of the Irvington Presbyterian Church at 55 Johnson Avenue and met a group of singers. And an old fear raised its ugly head.
In the early 1980s, I was a student at Indiana University Southeast. I saw a sign for the campus’ Community Choir and investigated. As I wrote in the poem “Of Words and Music,” I can sing, but I cannot read the notes that direct my song. When I expressed this concern to Webb, he reassured me, saying that I was among many non-music readers. So, I screwed my courage to the sticking place (thanks, Bill Shakespeare) and plunged into the choral pool. And it was a delightful swim. My next-door neighbor was subjected to my full-throated practices conducted on my front lawn, so much so that she was able to remind me to sing “clap your hands” when I was barking out the lyrics for “Come To The Music.” And when Harmony Collected presented its collective voice to the public on May 19th, 2024, Karen Davis brought her “Mama Rita” to hear the music that her daughter had been exposed to. Webb helped us to show our “True Colors,” and let the audience know that “Love Is Love Is Love Is Love.” And my youngest granddaughter helped with a suggestion when we were singing “Be The Change,” and Webb tasked the audience what “change” it wanted to “see in the world.” Myah’s hand shot into the air, and though she was unable to voice her suggestion, we used “be the hand you want to wave in the world.”
So, come sing, and bring a friend. No audition is required. Harmony Collected will begin practicing again on September 9th, at 6:30 p.m. We will gather in the Irvington Presbyterian Church Choir Room. We will meet and greet and determine who sings bass, tenor, alto or soprano, and begin to practice. On Sunday, October 20th, there will be a Community Sing in the IPC Fellowship Hall. The first concert is scheduled for Sunday, November 10th, crafted around the theme of “Broadway, Our Way.” And there will also be one of my favorite activities: either December 15th or 22nd, there will be Irvington Luminaria caroling! (Clap your hands!)
As I wrote in “Come To The Music,” (Weekly View, May 17th, 2024) there is joy to be found in this gathering of people who want to sing, even for singers like me, who cannot read music. I hope to avail myself, as I did last season, of the knowledge that a fellow tenor like Jason or Jim might have, and sing when they sing, or shut up when they do. Everyone is welcome, and we hope to see you there on September 9th, at 6:30 p.m., in the Irvington Presbyterian Church Choir Room.
Come sing!
cjon3acd@att.net