Wayland's Golden Tones Share The Gift of Song

In 1988 a group of senior citizens gathered around a piano at the Wayland Senior Center for a singalong. Soon after, members of the group wanted to share the music with people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to live performances, and the Golden Tones began. 

Since then the Golden Tones has evolved into a broader program that serves many people all over the region. Their members are generally people of retirement age and they perform approximately 50 concerts every year at various nursing homes and senior centers. 

“We get lots of calls from places that want us to perform and we also look for places that would be fun to perform in,” said Deborah Marion, director of the Golden Tones.

The group meets Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon at the Wayland Council on Aging and generally performs on Fridays. They always welcome new members and encourage interested parties to drop into a rehearsal any Tuesday morning from September to June. 

“[New members] just show up and we welcome them. There’s no audition, it’s open to anyone who loves to sing,” Marion said. 

They also welcome stage-shy people interested in working behind the scenes as volunteers. 

Aside from the performance aspect of the Golden Tones, there is also a strong sense of community.

“They love making good music and they love sharing it with others and feeling that they’ve done something to brighten their spirits that day," Marion said. "It’s a community of people who share an interest, and they support each other ... they make friends and they’re all in a similar stage in life and have similar joys and woes that they share."

Marion also noted the positive health effects singing has on older adults. The deep breathing, increased circulation, and dopamine released from singing provide “similar effects [to] eating chocolate or anything that’s enjoyable.”

She mentioned recent medical studies that show “retired people who sing have fewer medical issues and live longer.” Indeed, she has seen these effects manifested in the Golden Tones vocalists. “They forget their aches and pains and leave feeling really good about it, and gratified.”

Phyllis Sonnenschein, a six-year member of the Golden Tones, agreed. After retiring from teaching in 1999, Sonnenschein read articles about the Golden Tones in the newspaper and took an interest in them. While volunteering at The Center for Arts in Natick, she met Maddie Sifantus, the founder of the Golden Tones, who invited her to a rehearsal and she never left.  

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Sonnenschein said. “The people I have met there have been just super. I like the singing, I like the things that we do, I like the fact that we’re singing at nursing homes and that people are enjoying [our performances]. I’ve made a lot of friends ... it’s just a very giving group of people ... they care about one another and care about what they’re doing outside of the Golden Tones.”

Sonnenschein said that she makes sure not to schedule any of her myriad doctors' appointments on Tuesday mornings because she never wants to miss a rehearsal. 

“It’s just a very warm feeling when you’re with a group of people who share an interest in singing, and share an interest in sharing that singing with other people who would enjoy it," Sonnenschein said. "It’s really become a passion in my life for the past six years. This is what I like doing. We look out for one another, we care for one another and we care for what we’re doing.”

The Golden Tones will be performing at the Natick Winter Market at the Johnson Elementary School today, Feb. 26, at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about the Golden Tones, visit www.goldentones.org.