Reflections on POHC's Spring 2013 Concerts

POHC Sings at Hope Lodge, June 11, 2013.

 We have had two wonderful outreach concerts recently, and they are always such strong reminders of the importance of our mission.  On Tuesday, June 11th, we sang at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, a residence for out-of-town families of cancer patients, where we sang in a lovely open room that has a wall of windows and a good piano.  With a large choir turnout we were able to share our songs with passion and vigor and the audience was deeply responsive. Our audience started small, but grew as we sang, and in the end there were at least a dozen people.  Many sang with us during the sing-alongs, and they clearly knew many of our other songs. There was a very strong connection with them as we sang and we could feel them drinking up our words of hope and encouragement and reminders of joy--even though this time in their lives is particularly stressful.  After the concert they were very appreciative and some stayed around for a while to talk to the choir members.

POHC Sings at Rivington House, June 15, 2013.

Saturday afternoon, June 15th a smaller group of choir members gathered at Rivington House, a home for AIDS patients, where we sang in the penthouse, a very nice venue.  Here our audience was also smaller, 7 or 8, but the concert was just as beautiful.  The three sopranos held their own wonderfully and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the songs and joined us in the sing-alongs.  We did rousing renditions of New York/ New York, Feeling Groovy, Aquarius, Siyahamba, and  Stand by Me, along with a gentler Die Gedanken and the addition of Tumbalalaika.  We ended with Give Me Hope and Let There be Peace on Earth to much appreciation from the audience.  We could all feel what a lovely gift music is for folks who are struggling.

-POHC Soprano

High Notes on the High Line, April 27

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. 

POHC sings in the glow of the setting sun, on the High Line, Saturday, April 27.

It wasn’t exactly like singing in the subway.  Yes, we kept repeating our few good songs because the audience was fluid and transient.  But the High Line crowd was no in-a-hurry crowd. They were out for leisure, on an in-Manhattan getaway from Manhattan, taking a stroll on this road above the road, with wild grasses and flowers on either side. 

Tucked away in a bend of the road, with the Hudson River behind us, our backs to the setting sun, was the Choir.  People streamed by from both directions, some turning their heads to look and listen even if they didn’t stop, others collecting at the railings to stay for three or four or five songs.  But even this stationary audience wasn’t like a regular audience.  They hadn’t come on purpose to hear us.  We just happened. 

We did two sets--mainly repeats of Siyamba, Give Us Hope, Od Yavo, Down by the Riverside, and This Land is Your Land.  Our two brave a capella tries were Aquarius (René had to re-start us at the key change), and 59^th Street Bridge (this one worked pretty well!).  In between the sets, and sometimes in between the songs, POHC Tenor Gary worked the crowd, announcing who we were and what our mission was, then walking among them to give out pamphlets.  They took him at his word when he said, “There’s only one thing we like better than singing, and that’s hearing other people sing, so please join us.”

A highlight of the evening was the little girl with the curly hair who stepped up to us, then stood still, staring at René.  He got down to her level, very close to the ground, conducting all the while.  All at once, as if a switch had been thrown, this still little girl began to jump up and down in time to the music. 

POHC has fans of all ages. On the High Line, April 27.

Everyone, choir and audience, was in a good humor, and René didn’t seem to mind that he occasionally had to shield his eyes from the sun with one hand while he conducted us with the other. We’ve sung outside before, but always at ground level.  There’s something about being above it all while life goes on below that changes everything.

-POHC Alto 

Friday Night with Friends: POHC at YAI, April 5

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. 

We lined up in the hall while POHC Tenor, Anthony went in to introduce the Choir.  Applause.  Then, from inside, René gave pitches for “Siyahamba,” but they reached the hall only faintly. So POHC member Angela took up the call, singing the soprano part loud and clear while she walked down the line.  We picked out our own pitches and took up the song as we marched in.  By the time we were all assembled in rows, we were singing full-strength, Zulu, English, Zulu, English, with René on the drum.  There was rhythm in the room and joy on the faces of our young audience at YAI.

Then came the rest of the songs, starting with Imagine.  The audience sang along sometimes, listened quietly other times.  One young man recorded each song on his cell phone, somehow managing to hold the phone still in his hand while the rest of his body gyrated to the music—an isolate-that-muscle feat worthy of a subway entertainer. 

We always encourage our audiences to participate, but this time, I liked that the audience did not clap along to This Land is Your Land. Instead, they were holding the song sheets, reading and singing. Clapping might have distracted them and it was nice to join voices.  During that song, one girl in the front row pointed to us and herself every time we came to the line “This land belongs to YOU and ME.”  They did clap along during Down by the Riverside, though, and they liked shaking hands with the choir members who walked through the audience during the verse that says “Gonna shake hands around the world.” 

We know this audience.  We’ve sung for them many times, yet our connection with them always feels fresh. They’re good listeners, good participators, and they enjoy the introductions as much as the music. They pick up the mood of the songs and reflect them back.  During Bright Morning Star, one young lady who likes to speak and share comments during the performance, was quiet during the first part.  For a moment, she thought the song was over and started to say something, but when she saw that it was continuing, she was quiet again.  Our music hath charms to soothe... 

It was nice to have our former director, Abby, in the audience.  Also nice to see the man in a pin-striped shirt and tie in the back row.  I have no idea who he was, but I enjoyed watching his face. He listened intently the whole time, but during the last song, Give Us Hope, he looked as if a spark had lit up his insides. And the German song, Die Gedanken, introduced by POHC Alto Susannah, was special for me after she had previously shared some thoughts about her daughter. 

What better place for our first concert of the season than YAI, where we’re always welcomed with exuberance.  (That’s an understatement.)

-POHC Alto