“It gave them more satisfaction when we started doing assisted living places, because these people are really on their own. “People all enjoyed it and the singers all got satisfaction out of it,” Pellegrino said of the choir’s last concert. Pellegrino is hoping the choir can go back to putting on regular shows at local libraries, senior centers and assisted living facilities as the group did in the past. In the large community room where the choir practices, they held a holiday concert in December where friends and family members were invited. Martin Community Center in New Hyde Park was built, the group moved there. The group started in 1985, originally meeting at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. It keeps them active and they get to listen to music.” They feel comfortable talking to each other, depending on who they are, about personal issues, medical issues and it is also for their minds. “Some people live alone, their spouses passed away, their children don’t live nearby, their grand-children don’t live nearby,” Pellegrino explained. Pellegrino said that by then the members felt comfortable with meeting, and they were happy to be back. In-person meetings resumed last September, where members social distanced. And it was just to keep people active and not go stir crazy.” “We’d go with one person at a time, and they would sing a song. “Every week they would have six or seven people sing a song,” Pellegrino said. Members met over Zoom, singing from behind their computer screens. (Photo by Jennifer Corr)īut the choir stayed strong, nonetheless. Monday rehearsal is something the members of the North Hempstead Senior Choir look forward to. During the pandemic, the group saw a decline in membership. Now the group is down to about 22 members. He joined the North Hempstead Senior Choir over 10 years ago, a time that there were about 40 members. “They love to sing.”Īmong the singers is Joe Pellegrino, the producer of the group. “They all love each other,” Jaffe, who was a music major in college, said. Jaffe said directing the group has been wonderful and therapeutic. “My father was a Lutheran minister, so I had first took piano lessons and of course I had access to an organ,” Gilder said. ![]() Gilder joined the choir after retiring in 2004, and she’s been playing piano since she was 8 years old. On March 14, the choir began their rehearsal with “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” written by Jill Jackson-Miller, followed by “L-O-V-E,” written by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler. Playing the piano is Eleanor Gilder, and conducting is Ellen S. Jaffe, the music director, sits at the front of the room with her baton, signaling that it’s time to sing. For the members, this is something they look forward to.īut the chatter comes to a slow halt as Eleanor Gilder plays a few notes on the piano and Ellen S. Martin Community Center fills with chatter as members of the North Hempstead Senior Choir usher in for their weekly rehearsal. Members of the North Hempstead Senior Choir start their week on a high note. ![]() During the Monday practice the members of the choir sang Let There Be Peace and L-O-V-E.
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