Combining the Talents of Seniors and Youth

On Friday, 65 seniors put on their coats and jackets and ventured out into the rain.  They headed toward the Ann’s Choice chapel to rehearse for today’s Warminster Tri-centennial Celebration, a musical review that expects 400 attendees.  The blended voices of the chorus members were nothing short of inspirational.

Look Me Over

Director Jack Edgar stood on a podium at the front of the chapel.  His wife, Dottie, played piano.  “Same place, everybody, on D,” he called out to the chorus members just before they launched into “Amazing Grace” for a second time. After a few stanzas, Jack stopped the choral members and told them, “Separate the words.”  Seconds later, he raised his baton and instructed, “Same three parts again.”

The chorus rehearsed three other songs during the hour-long rehearsal, “Hey, Look Me Over,” “You’re Just In Love” and “God Bless the USA.” Before the rehearsal ended, Jack told the chorus members, “When the kids are here with us, they’ll blend in.  They’re adaptable.”

“They’re good,” an Ann’s Choice resident exclaimed.

The Ann’s Choice chorus rehearses each Friday to be ready for the several performances they give throughout the year at the retirement facility. They rehearsed with William Tennent’s chorus the previous Friday. 

Although this is the first year that the chorus has combined talents with William Tennent’s Madrigal Singers, Jack Edgar and other members of the chorus hoped that it would not be the last.  “It’s an honor to sing with the kids and to be a part of Warminster’s Tricentennial,” Suzy Roberts shared.  “I’m a new member of the Ann’s Choice chorus.  I enjoy singing with the group.  We have fun and strive to do our best,” she added.

Al Walker said that he has a “Granddaughter who was a senior sweetheart at William Tennent.”  He proudly let on that she’s “One of eleven twins.”

Delighted to Sing With Madrigal Singers

As are other members of the Ann’s Choice Chorus, Jane Weiss and Grace Kremer are delighted to perform with William Tennent’s Madrigal Singers.  Grace added that she “would like to work with young groups in the area once a year.  It’s good for both groups.”

One of the original members of the Ann’s Choice Chorus, Al Brady, revealed that when the chorus first began they sang songs that audience members could sing along with.  When asked about his thoughts regarding the tri-centennial event, he said, “I sang in a high school choir in the 1940s.  I’m excited about Saturday’s tri-centennial event.”

The sentiment was commonly shared.  “Singing with the William Tennent High School Madrigal Singers brought back fond memories of high school,” Betty McQue smiled.  “I’m happy to see kids enthused about music.”

Betty has been in the Ann’s Choice chorus for five years.  Only a handful of members have been in the group since it started.  The chorus’ director, Jack Edgar, is one of those people.

It All Started Seven Years Ago

Jack and his wife, Dottie, helped found the chorus a little more than seven years ago.  It was the same year that his wife and he moved to the retirement community.  “Me and my wife have sung with choruses around the world,” Jack beamed.  “We sang with the Israeli Philharmonic.  I also worked as a music teacher.”  When asked how long he had been directing music, Jack said, “Since 1947.”

Saturday he will join his musical passions and talents with those of Tyrone Dinkins, the director of William Tennent’s Madrigal Singers.  Twenty-one Madrigal singers and 29 instrumentalists from William Tennent will join the Ann’s Choice chorus in the chapel on Saturday.  This time there will not be room for rehearsal.  Saturday when the chapel doors open at 2 p.m. hundreds of attendees will fill the audience to be entertained.  What they might not already know is that they will also be delightfully inspired as the teens and seniors blend their voices into a celebration of music.

“Audience members will consist of Ann’s Choice residents, students of William Tennent High School and their parents,” Tina Ruzzi-Longello, a coordinator in the Ann’s Choice Resident Life Department said. Warminster government officials will also be in attendance.