Choir shares its “voices, hearts, and souls” to a
full house at DOROT, an organization that
has served generations of elders
By Carrie Wesolowski
Photos by Frank Asencio
From the smiling face at the reception desk to the smiling faces in our audience, DOROT was rolling out the welcome mat. Even DOROT’s flyer in the hallway heralded our imminent arrival this way:
“Join us for a musical journey around the world through a diverse repertoire. Songs from different countries and cultures and spanning a variety of genres make this a concert you won’t want to miss.”
Choir members react with applause and smiles in response to the audience at DOROT.
And this was surely a concert they didn’t miss. Almost 30 choir members sang to a full house—every seat in the room was filled. As far as taking our audience on a musical journey, we happily obliged, beginning with our signature opening combo of Siyahamaba/Shosholoza, two South African songs in Zulu.
The journey continued with two Spanish songs, Paz y Libertad and El Pueblo Unido, followed by two Hebrew songs, Od Yavo and Chiribim.
Our maestro, René Galván introduces a song.
We then treated our audience to the iconic pop classic Stand by Me, before leading taking them on a ride down Billy Joel’s River of Dreams and ultimately Over the Rainbow.
There were no shortage of sing-alongs: Peace like a River, This Land is Your Land, Lift Us Up, Singing for Our Lives, and our newest sing-along, the rousing Woke Up This Morning.
We passed out song sheets to help the audience with the lyrics and the enthusiastic crowd clearly enjoyed singing along. Danielle led a lesson of call and response for Chiribim. Then, it was time to do it for real.
You could feel palpable excitement in the audience as their hand claps kept pace with and fueled our own excitement as we alternated between singing faster and slower during Od Yavo.
Finally, when we sang a heartfelt Let There Be Peace on Earth to close out our concert, it was truly beautiful.
Charles, a staff member at DOROT, thanked us at the end of the concert for sharing our voices, hearts, and souls not only for the purposes of entertainment but also, and most importantly, for healing.
Charles also mentioned our sense of providing service and fostering community, which he also mentioned are at the core of DOROT.
Indeed, DOROT was founded in 1976 by a group of Columbia University grad students and alumni who were concerned about the plight of the homebound elderly on the Upper West Side.
They banded together to locate and visit these isolated men and women, delivering food and spending time in conversation, and, ultimately, forging a loving bond between the generations.
This purpose is reflected in the name they chose for their organization. DOROT is the Hebrew word for “generations.”
Over 40 years after its founding, DOROT continues to serve new generations of elderly New Yorkers.
Tenor Wilfred Harris sings solo on Shosholoza.
We, no doubt, had made a connection with our audience. Following our afternoon of musical merriment, audience members at every turn stopped choir members to express their gratitude. I was greeted by several ladies who had been singing along during our concert. They not only expressed how wonderful we sounded but they also wanted to know more about Peace of Heart Choir.
Our discussion ranged from how the choir was formed, to how I joined, to the audition process, and, finally, to our upcoming Benefit Concert. Our connection was revealed in the hugs we shared before we bade each other goodbye. They listened with great interest, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these ladies before our next visit to DOROT.
Perhaps as newcomers to our Fall 2019 Benefit Concert.
In Harmony,
Carrie Wesolowski, Alto 1