The concert at All Saints Church, in Queens, was in many ways different from a typical concert: 1) We got to meet the children from one of René’s other choirs--girls from kindergarten through middle school--who do the same warmups we do. Not only the arm and ribcage stretches, but the arpeggios and modified scales,and "the-tip-of-the-tongue-the-teeth-the-lips." It was like finding out your parent has another family whom you’ve never met, and further finding out that the other family has the same routines you do!
2) The audience did not "need" our ministering. They were well and happy people, mostly parents and siblings of the girls from the children’s choir. (It was a full house--standing room only.)
3) We were in the borough of Queens, where we don’t usually sing. Most of our concerts take place all around Manhattan, some in the Bronx, and a few in Brooklyn. It had been a while since we performed in Queens. As our Steering Committee Co-Chair Larry told the audience, he, himself, had never been to Queens before (then he added, almost under his breath, “I guess I have; I came here through Kennedy airport”).
4) Our very own Soparano, Angela Szpak, surprised us by singing an operatic solo, The Italian Street Song, by Victor Herbert. She sparkled. She dazzled. She brought the house down. Go, Angela!
5) We joined voices with Cantí
amo Youth Chorus and sang Cherokee Morning Song and Peace, Salaam, Shalom. For a blended family that just came together for the first time, we did pretty well.
6) We got to see René in martial arts persona when he transformed his handmade bamboo flute into a graceful, baton-line weapon. Who knew?
7) We found out that the song Peace, Salaam, Shalom has clap-along possibilities.
This was a heartwarming concert. The church was lovely. We sang well, and we got to meet the children we’d been hearing about for so long. We thank the church, the families, and their children for having us. -Peace of Heart Alto 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.