POHC 9/11 Remembrance Concert in Central Park

Peace of Heart Choir performs a remembrance concert in Central Park, September 11, 2012.

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. 

Peace of  Heart Choir formed in response to the events of September 11, 2001. During this time of year we join with other New Yorkers to remember, connect and heal.

The sky was blue and the sun shone today—the same weather we had eleven years ago.  Except that today’s air was fresher. A perfect day for our outdoor memorial concert. 

We gathered at Merchants' Gate, the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park. Our Music Facilitator, René, set up his portable piano, and the Choir arranged themselves a few steps up, in front of the monument. Our audience faced us from behind René; people of all ethnicities and ages (including a baby), some standing still to listen or sing along, some passing by on their way to somewhere, smiling in our direction as they walked. The policeman leaning on his van off to the side looked as if he wasn’t sure what was going on but liked what he was seeing and hearing. In any case, he let us be.

We opened with the South African hymn Siyahamba, which went off pretty well considering we learned only it a few days ago.  Kudos to the choir!  The audience sang along to the songs we thought they would—Down By the Riverside and This Land is Your Land—as well as to Od Yavo, Imagine, and Let There Be Peace On Earth.  This was an informal concert.  There was background noise from the general public, and also drums from a group on the other side of the monument.  Unphazed, we sang through it all, and the audience obviously enjoyed us.  The noise also worked in our favor: we didn’t have to be perfect.

After the concert, several of us were approached by students from the Columbia School of Journalism, who had been assigned to come to Central Park specifically to report on us.  Their questions were about how the Choir formed, what various members do in our “regular” lives, whether we knew anyone who had died in the attacks, and more. These were audio interviews (no video), and the students used the same equipment René uses to record our regular concerts, so he gave them pointers on the microphone.  In a way it’s fitting that the Columbia students were there, because POHC was started eleven years ago by musicians from the Columbia School of Social Work.

Afterward, a few of us went out to eat and then down to the Hudson River to view the memorial beams of light from Ground Zero, beams reaching high into the sky, way past where the towers did.  

-POHC Alto

This year's POHC 9/11 Remembrance Concert in Central Park was featured in the following online news outlets:

Wall Street Journal: Peace theme at NY Central Park 9/11 sing along

CBS Local News: 9/11 Observances Held Around the Tri-State Area

Spring Preview: Successful POHC Song Selection

POHC Members Convene the Spring 2013 Song Selection on July 15, 2012.

New York City is in the dog days of summer, but POHC is already thinking about Spring 2013! On July 15, POHC members gathered for the semiannual Song Selection meeting. A full season in advance, members nominate and vote on songs that will not only be performed during an upcoming season, but will also become part of the ever-growing general POHC repertoire. 

Charts are used to keep track of votes for the many excellent song nominations.

In accordance with the Song Selection Guidelines, members choose six songs from the existing repertoire, six new songs not previously performed by POHC, and two sing-along songs that can be old or new to the group. Another twist to the proposal and selection process is ensuring that the upcoming repertoire includes songs in English, Spanish and additional foreign languages (all according to the Guidelines--a document created and ratified by POHC members). 

Members use various media tools to present music and lyrics when nominating a song. 

This season, we had a great turnout--approximately 15 members gathered around a conference table in Midtown Manhattan to share their proposed lyrics and music, via all forms of media. We even sang a few songs to see how we liked them. The decision making was difficult because all of the choices were so good! Votes were cast and the POHC Spring 2013 repertoire is ready to be announced:  

Returning Songs: 

59th Street Bridge Song  
Aquarius 
de Colores (Spanish) 
Everyday People 
Stand By Me (Spanish/English) 
The Lion Sleeps Tonight

New Songs: 

Die Gedanken (German) 
el Beso (Spanish)
Madrigal Fire

Put a Little Love in Your Heart

This is My Song

Tumbalalaika (Yiddish) 

Sing-along Songs:

New York, New York 
Turn! Turn! Turn!

The decisions, recorded by hand and announced at the Song Selection meeting.

Why does POHC conduct song selection a full season ahead? Simple: Our Musical Facilitator, Robert René Galván, uses the time to research and prepare SATB choral arrangements for each of the new songs, and sometimes makes updates on returning arrangements so they will be ready for the specific blend of voices and talents to be participating. 

Now that we have a sneak peak at Spring 2013, we can focus on Fall 2012 with our upcoming auditions starting August 9. We hope to see you at our fundraising concert in December, but for now, we encourage you to enjoy your summer!

Warm Up Your Voice: POHC Auditions

Peace of Heart Choir is preparing for the Fall 2012 Season by holding auditions for new volunteer singers. Call or email to schedule an appointment and come prepared to sing 60 seconds or so of your favorite song, in any language, in any style or genre, as long as it's a capella (without instruments or CD/tape). You will sing for a small group consisting of three or four members of the choir and our Musical Director.

We need someone like you!

We accept talented amateurs and professionals alike. You'll need to be able to:

• blend with other voices
• sing a cappella (without instruments or accompaniment)
• harmonize
• sing arrangements for multiple voice parts
• commit to the choir's mission
• be sufficiently available to rehearse and sing on short notice for at least some engagements.

Ability to read music is helpful but not as important. Instrumental, dance, or other performers are also welcome. People of all races, ages, ethnicities, genders, gender expressions, sexual orientations, income levels, religions, beliefs, political affiliations, national origins, immigration statuses, and abilities/disabilities are welcome. 


We are looking for all voice parts, especially tenors and basses, who believe in our mission and are interested in singing diverse and popular music a cappella as well as with accompaniment. 

Audition Schedule

• Thursday, August 9
• Friday, August 10
• Saturday, August 11

All auditions will take place in midtown Manhattan. To schedule an audition, please email peaceofheartchoir@yahoo.com or call (212) 252-3191.

Seniors Sing Out! POHC at Kittay House, June 23

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. 

Members of POHC and Kittay House Choir join voices on June 23, 2012.

We had a large audience in the Bronx, at Kittay House Senior Apartment Living, on Saturday June 23--as big as the one at the church in Queens when we sang with the children’s choir. They were patiently waiting for us to begin when we were asked to hold off so they could clean up a spill in the back of the performance area. In true POHC fashion, we used the time to mingle with members of the audience. René was chatting with a man in the audience when, all of a sudden, the two of them burst into an operatic aria that could be heard throughout the room.  It turned out that Kittay has its own choir, of which this man is a member. 

In that same pre-concert mingling, I met a man in the front row who was from my old neighborhood in Brooklyn.  We discovered that we had both gone to the same junior high school. He and his wife, who was sitting with him, were Brooklyn College graduates, class of 1944.  I told them that my mother and I were also graduates of Brooklyn College, class of 1936 and 1964 respectively. 

By then, the mess was cleaned up, and we were on. This was a hard hall to sing in because of the acoustics–we could hardly hear ourselves–but the audience loved everything we performed. They sang along with This Land Is Your Land, and also with Hungarian Dance, Let There Be Peace on Earth and a few other songs. 

At the end of our performance, the Kittay recreation coordinator spoke about what joy we brought to everyone and how our spirit was contagious.  (She told us earlier that she is a cantor and had looked at our website thinking she might like to join, but she couldn’t make the time commitment right now). Then she asked whether she could invite all the Kittay choir members to stand with us so she could take a picture of the two choirs together.  They made their way up front with their walkers and smiles. I asked one woman whether she sang soprano or alto, and she said, “Anything they need.”  After our photos were snapped, our two choirs did a sing-along together, with René at the piano and the audience joining in heartily.  

At this, our final concert of the season, a good time was had by all. Have a great summer 2012 and we'll be back for our Fall season, with rehearsals starting in September. 

-POHC Alto

POHC Performs at NYPL St. Agnes Branch, June 21

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.

NYPL, St. Agnes Branch, where POHC performed on June 21, 2012.

There was a heat wave outside on Thursday, June 21, but it was blissfully cool on the third floor of the recently renovated St. Agnes library on Manhattan's Upper West Side. We warmed up and performed in the same space. A man and woman arrived when we did and sat in the audience during the warmups. The man did all the exercises with us while moving his hands like a conductor.  The only part of the routine that seemed to stump him was our tongue-twister of an exercise "the-tip-of-the-tongue-the-teeth-the-lips." And when we sang Quizás as part of the warmups, the woman sang with us, contributing an extra (and extra loud) "quizás” during the rests at the beginning. 

Five minutes before showtime, the house was still almost empty, but, miraculously, at 6PM people trooped in all at once and more than half the seats were filled.  (Now that I think about it, it maybe that the librarian-in-charge was holding the people outside until she thought we were ready.)

This was different from most of our community concerts in that it was open to the general public, whereas we often perform for small groups at shelters or hospitals where the audience members are residents or patients. At St. Agnes Library, some of our audience were friends and family of choir members. Two of our audience members were current choir members who, for various reasons, sat out this performance.  Also, there was former soprano Lily, beaming from her seat and joining us on stage at the end for our theme song Let There Be Peace on Earth.

There is nothing to report about this concert that was out of the ordinary.  That is a good
thing.  It is ordinary for audiences to thoroughly enjoy our concerts, to be attentive to the introductions, to participate in the sing-along, and to applaud enthusiastically after each song.
 
We certainly brought out a lot of smiles, and when we mingled with the audience afterward, we received positive comments including "Joyful," "I love the harmonies and the arrangements," and "Come back!"

-POHC Alto

POHC Sings at Roosevelt Hospital on Friday 6/8

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.

On Friday, June 8, POHC congregated in an alcove of the lobby at Roosevelt Hospital on the West Side of Manhattan. After the whole group arrived, we headed to the Volunteer Services office, where we warmed up before going to the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit to perform. With the help of the staff, we moved the very interesting piano (painted all over with flowers and supported by two paperback books, one under each front leg) to where we wanted it.  Then Rene tested it by playing various classical snippets, to the amusement of the patients who were there early and watched the set-up procedure.  The staff arranged chairs in rows, we arranged ourselves behind the piano, and the rest of the patients came in.

We opened with Peace, Salaam, Shalom and followed with Higher and Higher, after which a woman called out, “Didn’t Jackie Wilson sing that?” (yes!), and so a dialogue was started between the audience and the Choir that went beyond our introductions, all of which they listened to with interest.

We did the first sing-along early on—This Land Is Your Land—and everyone participated, either by singing or clapping.  When it was over, someone shouted, “Yay, Woody!”

René’s bamboo flute introduction to the Cherokee Morning Song has been a hit with all our audiences so far, and this one was no exception. When we finished the piece, one of the patients asked what the words of the song meant.  Rene told him: “I am of the great spirit.” (Another version of the translation is thought to mean "our hearts and spirits are strong.")  The patient said that the main lyrics, “We n’ de ya ho,” sounded like “When they are whole.”  He seemed pleased when we told him that was a wonderful observation.

Guantanamera was another hit, with clapping and singing not only by the patients, but by the staff who were standing in the doorway. And when we finished the fade-out ending
of Vela, someone said, “That’s gorgeous!” After, we closed with Let There Be Peace, we did the second sing-along, Down By the Riverside, and when that was over, we got a standing ovation from the patients!

They were a wonderful audience, each listening in his or her own way, and we all came away feeling good about having sung there.

-POHC Alto

Welcome June! YAI Hosts POHC for Friday Night Fun

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.

Coming to YAI is like coming home. We love them, they love us, and the attraction never dims. This is POHC Baritone Anthony’s turf, and as always, he introduced us on Friday, June 1. We were lined up in the hall, books in our left hands, and couldn’t hear what he said, but we did hear the result: resounding applause as we entered and took our places up front.

As soon as the cheers died down after our opening number, Bridge Over Troubled Water, a girl in the front row shouted out for a Spanish song, because that was her heritage.  René told her one was coming later.

When Barry introduced the Hungarian Rhapsody, someone knew that the third “B” name in famous composers was Brahms.  One of the choir members yelled out something about listening to the words, and sure enough, while we were in the middle of it, a girl in the second row was Ba-ba-Ba-ba-ing along with us, shaking her body in time to the music.  She got tripped up when we changed tempo, but picked it up again immediately.

Audiences of all ages love René’s demonstration of his bamboo flute and the pentatonic scale, and this one was no exception.  Maybe because these young adults pay such close attention and seem so interested, René told more of the story than he usually does.  And so the choir learned something today, too—that Rene baked the bamboo in his oven to dry it out. It’s quite a long flute, and this choir member wondered how big his oven was.

POHC Conductor and Music Facilitator Robert René Galván plays his bamboo flute.

One young man in the back suggested a few songs the choir could sing. René said they were possibilities and we would consider them, but we couldn’t do them today because we hadn’t rehearsed them. That same young man said he knew another classical song and hummed a long lick from it, which we couldn’t exactly place, but Rene said it sounded
like Dvořák. The man shook his head yes and looked pleased.

They loved our two sing-along songs, This Land Is Your Land and Down By the Riverside.  And what better measure of our closeness to these energetic, fully-present young adults than their knowing our routine. As Larry was introducing our closing number, before he even said the title, a young man up front said, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

As usual, there was a party afterward, to which the choir members were invited.  Good food, music and dancing, and high spirits. We will definitely be back!

-POHC Alto