At Foutain House

Fountain House is a community center in the West Forties dedicated to the recovery of men and women with mental illness. Run by members and staff, it provides employment, housing, education, and wellness programs. Members can also hang out in the elegant town-house to play chess, learn a craft, or eat. In the past we sang upstairs in the cafeteria, but tonight we were in the parlor on the ground floor, with couches, armchairs, a baby grand piano, and bottles of water put out for us on a table

After our usual warmups—vocalizing and trying out bits of songs to synchronize guitar, mandolin, and ukulele—one of the early-bird audience members called out, “You sound beautiful.” Then, in the few minutes before the start of the concert, some of us walked through the audience giving out pamphlets to people who asked about auditions and the fundraiser. There was an old-home-week kind feeling: one woman knew Lenore and Bill from her church; another woman knew Anthony from YAI; and a man asked whether I was Marv’s sister (it turns out he had once come to a POHC rehearsal).

We opened with “Siyhamba”—no surprise there—but this time it was “Siyhamba” with a twist. When we finished it, a woman in the back asked whether we ever tried to sing both languages at once. So Rene had half of us sing Zulu while the other half sung English, and it sounded pretty good. “You’re hired!” we told her.

They liked the whole concert and really did look at the singalong sheets, because when it came time for “This Little Light of Mine,” they said the same thing our last audience said: “It’s not on the sheet.” No matter, they sang it anyway.

After the concert, at Wilfred’s request, we posed for a group picture, taken the old fashioned way, by a photographer not in the picture (Anthony’s mom and his coach). Then another picture, this one a selfie by Brian—if a selfie can have 20 people in it. The audience watched the photo shoot, too. When it was over, as we were walking out, many told us how much they enjoyed the concert. “Come back,” one said, and another called, “God bless you all.”

-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

At Clyde Burton House

 Sixteen performers, and twelve audience members in a very small room. Chamber music. Up close and personal.

Clyde Burton House, at the end of Alphabet City (between C-D, but feels more like Z when you’re walking there), has 33 SRO units of supportive, permanent housing for formerly homeless seniors or seniors with mental health issues. (A senior is someone over 55.) It’s one of the facilities run by the Bowery Residents Committee (BRC), and our own Soprano Olga does volunteer work there. The crafts her seniors made were hanging on the bulletin board.

We warmed up by running through several numbers, mainly so the various stringed instruments (Rene’s, Brian’s, Marv’s) could coordinate. A few audience members were already seated during this time, and we explained that they would be hearing these songs again. One of the men said that was fine: “Y’all good at what you do, from what I heard.” One of the women sang along with “Pieces of the World,” even though there was no way she could have heard the song before. After Carrie introduced the choir, when we officially started with “Siyahamba,” she sang along with that, too. 

 These men and women joined in enthusiastically on the singalongs, and the ones who didn’t sing had smiles on their faces. Wilfred was the Jack of all soloists, doing both “Lonesome Road” and “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” And Rene livened the show by explaining things about his instruments, especially the wooden sticks he was using during “Siyahamba” instead of drums—though the song was Zulu, he said, from Africa, and the sticks were from Mexico, they went well together. Rene also told them that this wasn’t the whole choir, and they wanted to know when we were going to come back with the rest. (There’s no way we could all fit in that room.)

One of the woman who was singing along with gusto told me after the performance that her mother was a music teacher, and she was a singer. She asked whether we were performing anywhere that she could come to. I told her about the fundraiser at Baruch and gave her a pamphlet. She doesn’t have a computer but uses the ones at the public library and said she was going to check for when our auditions were “now that things are settling down.”

When I got home, before writing this, I looked at the BRC and clicked on a video called “Grace’s Story” (see below for link). It turned out to be the story of the woman who was singing “Siyahamba” and “Pieces of the World.” The subtitle of the video is “Every Homeless Person Has a Story. This is Grace’s.” It’s not often that we get to know the personal histories of the people we sing for. It adds another dimension to what we do.

-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

At Mercy Home

The Sisters of Mercy closed their Willoughby Avenue convent in 2008, after 146 years of ministering to the homeless, orphans, and the sick. The beautiful building now serves as the administrative office for Mercy Home, the order’s network of thirteen group homes for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The building is also used as a community center, a place the residents come for recreation and enrichment programs. It was POHC’s privilege to be the recreation for this evening, both on the giving and receiving end.

The door of our small warmup room was open, and people stopped by to introduce themselves and shake hands on their way to the former chapel, now the auditorium. Many of them knew Michael Anne, the POHC Soprano who works for Mercy Home and arranged this gig. When it was time to begin, we marched down the center aisle to the stage area in front, with people waving and smiling as we passed. Ruth introduced the choir, and then we opened with—you guessed it—“Siyahamba.” It’s always a hit, but this time, when it was over, someone shouted Encore! above the applause.

Encores we did. Ten. By pre-arrangement, most were singalongs, with POHC members mingling with the very receptive audience during Rock-a-My Soul. The rest of our numbers were sung on stage, which we shared with one of the residents and his full set of drums. Occasionally he helped us keep the beat, but otherwise he just sat and listened. This audience was dressed up for an event, and they all had big smiles on their faces. They moved. They swayed. They Clapped. A few even stood up to bounce in place while we sang and Rene, Ruth, and Marv played—not all at once—two guitars, a mandolin, and a ukulele. Thanks to Wilfred and Deb for beautiful solos.

After our closing “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” we got to sit in the audience and hear their band, The Melodic Souls. The drum guy on stage came to life, and so did a keyboard player and a guitar player. Other members of the band were in the first two rows of the audience, turned around to face the rest of the audience while they shook maracas and tambourines. Each member of the band was introduced by the drummer and got up to take a bow while the audience whooped and hollered. Then came an original song, “On Our Way Home,” and a standard, “I Can See Clearly Now.” One of the staff members passed a microphone around to give each of the band members a solo moment. Now it was our turn to clap.

On my way to the reception that followed—pastries, fruit salad, and beverages—another staff members stopped me to say, “You guys are great! So in sync and in harmony. You gave me the chills.”

Tonight, we did, indeed, sing joy. Furaha!

-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

Kickstarter 2015 CD!

Come on a journey around the world in song with Peace of Heart Choir. We need your support to record and produce our new CD of World Music. The 2015 CD will be bigger and better--more songs and higher-quality recording! We deliver the joy of live music to many people who can’t get it any other way. Each year, we perform about 20 free outreach concerts at area shelters, hospitals, hospices and nursing homes, as well as at public libraries and parks. Our aim is to promote healing, diversity, community bonding, and mutual understanding through music. We sing in a wide variety of vocal styles, including International, Jazz, Folk, American Standards, Traditional and even Classical tunes. We also sing in multiple languages, including Swahili, Igbo, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Irish and Chinese.

The money we raise in this campaign will enable us to record the album, to mix and master the songs and print the CDs professionally. You can make a difference.

"A Season to Shine": At a Benefit Concert for the first time!

Our annual Benefit Concert, "A Season to Shine" was finally here, At the "Baruch Performing Arts Center" we were expected to appear, Excited alike were the veteran and new members, This would be a performance to remember!

The day began with an early call time, Everyone carrying baked treats and looking just fine! Michael Anne, Olga T. & Noella were stunning in Red, Alex, Gary and Phil dressed in Blue the tenors led. In the alto section Carrie sparkled and shined, And René topped it all with an Orange sublime!

The first task was a general rehearsal. How should we stand? You'll be there, I'll be here, everyone hold your music with your left hand! We went through the repertoire tuning our voices and refining our part, With René's final adjustments, soon it was time for the concert to start.

We headed to the backstage excited and eager to begin, And while we waited Bass Barry Started to sing, "It had to be you" he ingeniously improvised for us newbies, And Deb with "Certificates of Achievement" made us all shine like rubies, Maryann and Laura S. were never absent at rehearsals this season, so for celebrating there was more than one reason.

Attention please, It's time to line up! Rob called out, chaos broke loose, the right place in the line was for everyone a huge doubt, after fumbling a little and giggling a lot, We were finally ready, everyone in their spot. So we walked on stage, the lights shone bright Seeing our friends and family was a delight, (and soooo many people gave us a bit of stage fright).

"Furaha!" We sang first, wishing joy for each and every day, And so the concert was well on its way.

"Carol of the Bells" was a favorite for many of us, So excited to sing it we took off a bit rushed. René made no fuss, He led us to the last notes, “Ding Dong Ding Dong”, That was a wonderful song!

Next the lovely Lily invited the audience to join in, For the Yiddish tongue twisting "Ciri biri biri bim", We all concentrated to come in on cue, It turned out just right, a sigh of relief we all blew.

Then Pearl introduced "Gentrai", the beautiful Irish song, and we knew our sopranos couldn't go wrong, Seconds together with altos as Uilleann pipes hummed, And with intricate lyrics the first sopranos were then summed.

Next Carol King's "You've got a friend", The audience enjoyed from beginning to end. Laura Wells and Charlie blew me away with their heartfelt duet, And Evelyn's violin was so special it will be hard to forget.

The Bass and Tenors were the highlight of the "Kwanzaa Song", "Continuous, continuous" they all sang along, Then the time came to "Light one candle" And even though I had a few doubts, with the help of my fellow seconds it was easy to handle!

The intermission arrived in a flash, And off for our treats the audience made a dash, The Bourbon brownies I hear were a must, They sold out so quickly nothing was left, not even a crust.

The second part began with "Sleigh Ride", the bells started ringing, And to a fast tempo we were tightly clinging, Rene led the horses with a clip and a clop, Carrie had practiced "the slap" all night. That's why the "special effects" were the song's highlight!

The time came for "That Lonesome Road", And in her solo our dear Nancy her talents showed, She wowed the audience with her vibrant jazzy voice, For this song she was the perfect choice!

 Then it was time to dance with "The Boys", "Oye Como Va" let's make some noise, Barbara in percussion and Marv's flute, To the great Tito Puente we payed tribute.

The room was suddenly quiet when Dave began to play, His "Holiday Medley Guitar Solo", blew the audience away, It set the perfect festive atmosphere, I felt honored to have such a talented peer!

Our 4 Lennons came on stage for "Happy Xmas (War is over)", Of course I mean: Brian, Andrea, Gary and Tony Glover, They gave a unique feel to a traditional tune, There won't be a cooler quartet anytime soon.

Anthony put on his shades, he knew it was time to have fun, "Proud Mary" was next, “nice and rough” was how it had to be done, I had always dreamed of singing it one day, And with Tony's improv.  we put on quite a display.

The repertoire included some sing alongs, “Rock-a my Soul” and “Michael Row the Boat Ashore”, I was happy to see our board members singing and dancing galore, Last but not least, with "Let there Be Peace on Earth" the concert was coming to an end, And for this one, with the past alumni we made a perfect blend.

I felt so lucky to be part of such a diverse and wonderful crowd, We looked at each other and gracefully bowed, I never thought so many friends I would acquire, Thank you for being so awesome "Peace of Heart Choir".

-Olga Pinto, 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

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At The Workmen’s Circle Multicare Center

I looked for the entrance of Workmen’s Circle Multicare Center. Its turquoise pillars stood out in this residential Bronx neighborhood on a dismal December day and I knew I had found the right place. Workmen’s Circle Multi-Care Center is a 525-bed non-profit rehabilitation center/nursing home. I walked through the front doors and I told someone at the front desk that I was with Peace of Heart Choir and asked where we were rehearsing. He directed me to a room directly across from the desk where I found Rene and several other choir members waiting for guidance as to where we would go next. Apparently, they were not aware we would be performing. But that it is possible on a weekend performance such as this when the director was not there. I joked to fellow choir members we were being sequestered as the glass door was closed, the space was tight, and it was very warm—even warmer than the nursing home itself which is always warm as a rule of thumb.

A lady who was a manager came by and rescued us and brought us upstairs to a chapel where we left our belongings and it was time for the outreach to begin. We lined up and I took notice of the room. A Sunday meal menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was posted on the wall with a photo of Liberace at the very top. I joked to Howard, “It appears that Liberace presides over the Sunday meal.” Howard laughed. I then noticed the poster of a record that read “Rock and Roll” across it. If you looked to your left, you could see you were in a hospital/nursing home setting. When you looked in the direction of the dining hall, it felt like a combination dining hall/classroom with all of its decorations—a place almost stuck in time meant to probably evoke nostalgia with its posters of Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and Liberace as I mentioned before—just to name a few. Rene warned us before we entered of the frail state of the people in attendance. I was prepared for it as I was so familiar with my Dad’s frailty at the end of his life 5 years ago after a battle with lung cancer. Many residents were in wheelchairs and had breathing tubes.

We took our places and it was time for the outreach to begin. From our opening number, Siyahamba, it was evident we had a fan in the front row. She had a breathing tube and was in a wheelchair and she was just as bold and spirited as her red lipstick and the bright red beads she wore around her neck. She was pounding her right fist in the air in response to our music. At the end of the song, in a raspy voice, Jeanette shouted, “Excellent.” We continued with a lovely Wanemo to which Jeanette exclaimed, “Beautiful.” It was also clear we had another fan. He was in a wheelchair on the opposite side in the front row. He wore a drag racing cap and seemed to be a native New Yorker and was very assertive in his approval. A festive Carol of the Bells was next followed by Michael Row the Boat Ashore. There was a lady sitting at the left hand side of the room in the corner. I made eye contact with her a few times. It was during Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, she seemed to become more involved in the outreach. Her eyes lit up. During Down by the Riverside, we went out to shake the hands of the residents which I found really moving and I know my choirmates found especially touching as well.

When I shook the hand of the lady who became involved during Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, she revealed a most gracious and gentle smile as she mouthed, “Beautiful” to me and she said softly, “My throat is sore. I wish I could sing.” That Lonesome Road featured a heartfelt, lovely solo by Nancy. Oye Come Va was a great fun, up tempo number. A pretty Pokarekare Ana, our Maori love ballad and a pensive Light One Candle followed. Next was Happy Xmas(War is Over). I’m so glad that Deb suggested we reinstate the choral refrain War is Over. I know many other choir members have commented what a difference that makes in preserving the integrity of the original meaning of the song as written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. And what a wonderful vocal quartet we had for this song: Brian, Gail, Gary, and Maryann. Our number one fan, Jeanette, especially appreciated this tune as did several audience members. Rock-a-My-Soul was next followed by our wonderful anthem for our children, Give Us Hope and our signature anthem, Let There Be Peace on Earth. Exemplary musical accompaniment was provided throughout the outreach by Brian and Marv on guitar and Rene on ukelele/cigar box guitar as it was affectionately referenced. Deb, Barbara, and Ellen also provided fine musical support.

We carpooled back to Manhattan and Queens, respectively. It had been a touching outreach—the last outreach of the season. I thought of when I shook Jeanette’s hand during Down by the Riverside. She said, “Bless You.” I felt blessed to have met her and to have been a part of this Peace of Heart Choir outreach. Blessed indeed.

-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