Peace of Heart Choir Sings at BRC (Bower Residents Committee)
By Carrie Wesolowski
Photos by Frank Asencio
“I needed to hear the music today.”
"I needed to hear the music today," he said.
These words, spoken by an audience member who had seen a flyer that we would be singing at BRC, were the perfect catalyst to jump start our outreach concert on November 30, 2019, the Saturday after Thanskgiving.
And so here we were—25 of us—to heed the call and sing for those who needed to hear it at BRC (Bowery Residents Committee) one of New York City’s leading nonprofits providing caring and effective services including outreach to the unsheltered homeless; transitional housing and shelter; permanent housing; substance abuse treatment; mental and physical health services; workforce development and senior services. BRC serves more than 10,000 individuals each year.
Choir members acknowledge the audience at BRC with applause.
We began our outreach, held in the 2nd floor dining area, with our Siyahamba/Shosholoza combo to a small audience and by concert's end nearly all the seats were filled. Our audience was mostly male but also included three women and comprised residents from three nearby homeless shelters that share the dining area.
Several rows of bright red chairs were set up in the room while a cardboard Thanksgiving decoration hung on the back wall. With a projector at our backs and a board with an artwork collage that included positive affirmations and images that read "I trust myself," we began to sing.
Singing out at BRC
There was no piano, and so it was a new experience for the choir singing River of Dreams a capella. Our audience was such an appreciative one. Using the Peace of Heart Choir lyric booklets we handed out, many joined us on the sing-along songs, Peace Like a River, Lead with Love, Woke Up this Morning, Singing for Our Lives, and This Little Light of Mine.
One man in an army T-shirt smiled enthusiastically as we sang. Another man closed his eyes and sang along with us as we performed Stand by Me. He joined us on many of our sing-alongs too. He seemed rapt as he soaked up the music with eyes closed and a slight smile forming at the corner of his lips.
At the end of our concert, one audience member had a special request for our encore.
He wanted to hear Lift Us Up one more time and he joined in to sing with us. Judging from the smile on his face, the joy in his voice, our music surely had "lifted him up."
In Harmony,
Carrie Wesolowski, Alto 1