For the Love of Sound
What started as a small group of just ten music lovers gradually evolved into what is now a 46-member choir at Ingleside at King Farm, the Ingleside Chamber Singers. For the past eight years, the senior living community’s resident-led choral group has brought camaraderie between residents and the community through the shared joy of music-making. The choir is directed by resident and music professional Janice Hamer, a composer, choral director and former professor, who spent her time before retirement composing works for international performance, and teaching and conducting at prestigious institutions like the Curtis Institute of Music, Haverford College and Swarthmore College. Primarily involved in caring for her 105-year-old mother at Ingleside, Hamer also wanted to continue her previous musical pursuits in some form. She now brings exceptional expertise to Ingleside’s music programming by encouraging residents to embrace the art of vocal sound. “I wanted to do something that would keep me going musically,” she said. “I had the desire to make something beautiful happen—so I did.”
One of the most inspiring aspects of Ingleside’s choir is its challenge to assumptions about aging and vocal capability. “It’s something a lot of older people think they can’t do any more,” Hamer said. “The voice begins to go, the breathing, the eyes, the ears, and you tend to feel like — well, that was my college days or my high school days, but that’s not for me now.” At Ingleside at King Farm, choir members prove this notion wrong with every rehearsal and performance. The ensemble has grown over the years not only in size but also in musical sophistication. Hamer said, “At this stage, I feel very excited about them musically, and I work hard to keep up with them.” The group has also attracted non-resident members from Montgomery County, thereby building bridges between Ingleside and the wider community.
To support participants’ commitment to their craft, Hamer creates recordings of the individual vocal parts, allowing members to practice between weekly rehearsals. Members who want to strengthen their music-reading skills can attend a class given by a conductor-member of the group. Like other senior choirs, the Chamber Singers fosters social interaction but goes further than others in demanding a high standard of performance of classical and world music, part of IKF’s emphasis on cultural excellence.
“Choral singing brings us to a very high, abstract place,” Hamer says. “But it’s actually also a down-to-earth team sport, where every voice matters.”
To hear from Jan and the choir themselves, check out the video below. For more information on Ingleside at King Farm’s cultural arts programs, click here.