AND THE ANGELS SING

In this vignette, I sing out the good news about my chorus participation, an activity that has enhanced my retirement years. 12/20/2016

AND THE ANGELS SING

My singing career began at a very early age, accompanying my brother while he played the piano. We complemented each other quite well as my screeching offset his missed notes. Later on in grade school, my voice improved significantly, enough to allow me to join the church choir and to appear in a few minstrel shows, including one that starred me in the role of ‘Mammy Sue.’ My big number was Shortenin’ Bread. When my boy soprano voice cracked at age 12 while reaching for a high note, I stopped performing in public. Thereafter, I only sang in the shower.

My career began anew in 1993, quite by chance. While attending a senior’s service club meeting with forty other volunteers, a staff member asked us to introduce ourselves. When my turn came, I decided to sing out my rendition of “Finnerty, That’s Me,” a parody of Harrigan, followed by “Oh, I Was Born in Hoboken.” It provided some comic relief to an otherwise drab proceeding.

One of the volunteers, Herb Lessell, a retired music professor, sought me out afterwards and said, “Joe, you must join my chorus at Scottsdale Community College.” I told him I had no experience other than singing in my grade school choir and had a very limited vocal range. He prevailed upon me to attend an upcoming performance of his group. There, I saw a former coworker who encouraged me to join. The following semester, I did.

“What’s your voice, tenor, baritone or bass?” another member asked me.

“I don’t know.”

After singing a few notes he informed me, “You’re a bass.” Who knew?

At first, I tended to sing the melody of familiar songs instead of the required harmony. To help me read music, I took four semesters of class piano at SCC over a two year period. It proved very beneficial to my singing career. Now, I could read music and did not have to rely on my memory. I learned how to play a few tunes, but rarely practiced and soon lost the ability to play the instrument.

In 1999 a friend informed me the prestigious Arizona State University Choral Union, of which both he and his wife were members, would travel to Australia in June 2000, there to perform three concerts over a two week period, which would be followed by a week’s vacation in New Zealand. These were destinations my wife and I longed to see. After a brief audition, the conductor accepted me. It shocked me to discover this chorus consisted of 213 singers. Now, that’s a chorus.

Joining was easy. Participating was not. The music we had to sing far exceeded the level of difficulty I had encountered at SCC. A year prior to the tour, the chorus gave three performances of the prodigious Carmina Burana at the Phoenix Symphony Hall, music completely new to me. I thought of myself as a spear carrier at the Metropolitan Opera. You cannot imagine how difficult I found it to learn the bass part or how proud it made me feel when the show got great reviews. It had never dawned on me that I had a voice good enough to participate in such an elite chorus or the ability to sing such complex music.

Over the Christmas season of 1999, the Chorale Union sang at the same venue in support of the famous star of Oklahoma, Shirley Jones. The chorus blasted out a medley of songs before she appeared on stage. When she did, she forgot the lyrics to her opening number, a traditional carol. I winced, hoping she would recover quickly. She did, but I sensed she had been put into a state of shock, hearing the thunderous outpouring of our collective two hundred plus voices.

The Australian tour exceeded my expectation. Only a paltry 109 singers performed. Another fifty non-singers, including my wife, came along for the ride. We sang Haydn’s Creation. This piece of music is not for sissies. Its harmonies are intricate and difficult to learn. It takes an hour to perform. During some long solo passages, the chorus is required to remains rooted upon the risers like trees in a forest, listening intently. We sang at three different venues, including cathedrals in Melbourne and Sydney, and with the University of Canberra’s chorus in their auditorium, all attended by enthusiastic audiences. They made the long hours of travel and rehearsal worth the effort.

However, during this three week period I began to experience severe pain in my right hip, especially when required to stand on stage risers for over an hour at a time. I limped considerably all during this tour, but am so glad that I managed to persevere. Angie and I had a wonderful time.

Hip surgery in 2001 forced me to leave the chorus as I could not walk the long distance from the parking lot to the Choral Union’s rehearsed hall located in the middle of the ASU campus during my recovery period.

It did not prevent me from rejoining the SCC Monday Night Chorus whose 30 participants paled in comparison to the size of the ASU Choral Union. That number continued to shrink until 2007 when SCC canceled the class due to low enrollment.

When that happened, I thought my singing days were over. Not so fast. Another opportunity to sing with a chorus beckoned. I joined the “Broadway Babies,” a group of about 20 singers, led by Marcia Weinberg. We entertain residents of assisted living and retirement venues around the Valley, attired in costumes ranging from top hats to red boas. This group sings familiar tunes, melody only. We sang one year at the City of Scottsdale’s Annual Culinary Fair to an audience hungry for food, not music.

In August 2007 I joined the “Choral Reef Singers,” a four-part harmony chorus founded by former members of the SCC Monday night group. The conductor, Jeanette Young, is a Phoenix elementary school music teacher. It performs at the same venues as does the BB’s.

I am the oldest member of both groups, no surprise there. It amazes me that my voice has improved with age. It sounds richer and my range has expanded. People in these choruses compliment my ability to sing on key and loud enough to help set a musical floor upon which the other really good singers may stand.

Neither of these two chorus groups received the national recognition accorded the one featured in the great documentary, “Young at Heart,” most of whose members are over 70 years old, none of whom ever sang professionally. What makes the movie so inspirational is that the chorus sings unconventional music that takes their audiences by complete surprise. They belt out famous hard rock tunes with gusto and undeniable joy, their verve and élan completely at odds with what one might expect from such elderly singers.

Singing never appeared in my list of “To Do” retirement activities. That should not surprise you. My list had no entries. I just hung around, waiting for stuff to happen to me. Fortunately, many opportunities came my way making my retirement life extremely rewarding.

Singing keeps me healthy. However, when summoned by St. Peter, I plan to ask permission to join the heavenly choir. I have the credentials. All I lack is the wings. He can skip the halo.

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This picture was taken in March 2008 when Susan Barman and I sang “It Had To Be You.” 

This flyer shows the Broadway Babies chorus all dolled up with someplace to go, namely, The Terraces retirement and assisted living place in Phoenix. We performed this show in their all-purpose chapel filled to capacity with residents who loved it during 2008.

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