Fountain House is a supportive community center for people living with serious mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. We warmed up and sang in the dining room, where they had urns of ice water with lemon waiting for us.
This audience took a while to loosen up, but once they did, they were definitely involved. Songs they especially loved, judging by appreciative hoots as well as applause: Over The Rainbow / Wonderful World, This Land is Your Land, and Aquarius (with Wilfred doing the honors). During Give Us Hope, I saw a man listening with his eyes closed, as if he was absorbing the meaning of the song.
When Rene said we were getting near the end of the concert, they said, “No! We want more,” so we did Rock-a-My-Soul, Peace Salaam Shalom, and Let There Be Peace. “Bravo!” they shouted when Rene signaled us to bow. Then they invited us to stay for refreshments.
This concert was significant for POHC, because we premiered three songs: Over The Rainbow / Wonderful World, Chanukkah in Santa Monica, and Samiotisa. There were some bumps in Rainbow, but nothing major. This was very empowering.
- Peace of Heart Choir Singer
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.