Suncook Valley Chorale 'Get Happy'

The Suncook Valley Chorale performs its spring concert, on Friday and Saturday in Pembroke.

However earlier in the week, they were practicing in the Pleasant View Retirement Center auditorium, which was bursting with songs, specifically, ones from the golden, bygone era from 1890 to 1950.

Music Director Scott Lounsbury said the pieces were timeless and classic that will lift spirits.

“Don’t we all need it?,” he said, laughing. “We all need it. It’s those songs that are key to our culture in that … so many of us grew up with them. They’re such good songs, I don’t want them to get lost.”

Lounsbury said the songs were perfect for a chorale format since the material ebbs and flows. Some of the younger chorale singers even seem to pick up on the older material.

“You can see that, yeah,” he said.

The concert was previewed for some of the center's residents last week and “they were just singing along and singing along,” he said.