The fifth-floor wellness unit has been refurbished since the last time we were at Fountain House;, with artistic tube-lamps hanging from the ceiling. What remains the same is the airy feeling of the room with large north-east facing windows and the pots of fresh basil and parsley on the windowsill. We had an audience of about five for our warmups, and I saw some smiles when we got to "the-tip-of-the-tongue-the-teeth-the-lips." We finished the warmups by running through some songs, with René stopping us here and there to re-do a few measures. The audience seemed interested in these rehearsal proceedings. We began the concert proper with our rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and as we progressed from song to song, the audience grew. By the end of the concert, it numbered fourteen.
We have sung for a Fountain House audience before. They are not effusive, but they are definitely with us in a low-key way. They paid attention when René introduced the Cherokee Morning Song by demonstrating his bamboo flute—showing them how it doubles as a weapon and explaining the way he made it. A few swayed back and forth as we sang the song, with Jeanette—mom of Peace of Heart choir Baritone Anthony—filling in on the shakers. Barry introduced the Hungarian Rhapsody by saying, “There are three famous B-named composers in music: Bach, Beethoven, and...” Several people shouted out “Brahms!”
Larry reached not only the audience, but the choir as well, when he read all the words of the POHC theme song, Let There Be Peace On Earth, as if it were a prayer. The room was hushed, and every eye was on him, including those of a man who had been facing the back of the room and reading a book. An uplifting, spiritual feeling pervaded the room. There was a brief silence after Larry finished, and then we began singing the words he had just spoken. It was a moment that could not have been rehearsed. After the concert, the audience members wanted to take pictures with us, so we posed with them.
Soprano Angela Szpak put on her Miss Plus New York banner, and they flocked to take pictures with her, too.
We all left with a good feeling.
-Peace of Heart Alto It has become a tradition for a member of POHC to do a post-concert write-up. It started when our Sign-up Coordinator began emailing her summaries to the other members in order to entice newer members to sign-up to sing at community concerts held early in the season. It didn't take long for Concert Write-ups to become greatly anticipated amongst our members, so we share them here in hopes that you'll join us at a future concert.