Hello Friends!
The Music Makes Me Happy Chorus has been absent from your inbox for many months, but we have not forgotten you, and certainly have not forgotten each other! Hope you enjoy this letter from our ever-devoted director Marsha, and hearing our updates from 2020 and 2021.
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The best "group photo" we could create from our 2020 "Holiday Party" on Zoom!
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Looking Back and Looking
Ahead -Message from Marsha
The last rehearsal of our MMMH Chorus at Cotting School was on Tuesday, March 10th. We only missed one week and then on Thurs. March 26, 2020 we held our first chorus meeting on Zoom. We have now met on Zoom every Tuesday evening since then; #53 was on March 23rd.
We have tried to keep the format and schedule as close to normal as possible: Opening songs, Happy Birthday, Songs for our program or for special occasions, Sharing, Closing song. Of course, there have been some changes necessitated by being online. Since the technology does not make it possible to sing right together, we mute everyone when we are practicing -- each singer can sing along with the piano but can’t hear any of the other singers. We do our opening and closing songs unmuted so we can hear each other, even though we are not together and it sounds messy. And of course there is no snack time together.
Our time allotted for sharing has expanded tremendously, and we have gotten to know each other deeply. We know each other’s pets, favorite foods and colors, hobbies, vacations, movies, etc. We have also talked about what brings us joy, what we are afraid of, our experiences of bullying, what we like about Martin Luther King, how to be a good friend, and so much more. We have shared grief over the loss of our dear friend and chorus member “Julia” who died in September (not from COVID).
We have celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s,
MLK Day, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day by singing music for those special days. At Christmas time we had a 2-night party online complete with glitter glasses, jingle bell wristbands, Christmas song games, and homemade goodies.
Though we have several chorus members who have not been able to
participate online, nonetheless we have over twenty people with us every week. One nice thing about being online is that we have a former volunteer member “Dora” back with us from Texas, and we have had various family members visiting who don’t live around here.
We are all eager for this pandemic and time of mandatory isolation to end so that we can be back together again singing in our circle. Many of our chorus have received vaccinations, some one and some two. We are hoping that possibly by summer we can get together in an outdoor space with our masks on and be able to see each other in person. When the scientists and doctors tell us it is safe to resume singing, we will be able to resume our in-person chorus rehearsals at Cotting School. Right now I don’t know exactly when that will be, but I am confident that it is getting closer.
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Remembering Julia Baird
March 30, 1998 - September 21, 2020
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Since September, we have talked many times about our precious friend and chorus member Julia Baird, sharing things we love about her, and memories of our time together.
Her smile and laugh and bubbly personality were unforgettable. Anyone who has attended our concerts knows immediately who Julia was - the short, red-haired girl in the front row who got so exciting singing that she would jump up and down, and stamp her feet. Her enthusiasm and love of the music was contagious. In one of our chorus sharing times on Zoom, it was suggested that one of the ways we can honor Julia's memory is to show that same enthusiasm for our songs. We all agree that we will continue to feel Julia's presence when we are singing together. We love you, Julia!
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New Members
We are happy to announce that the MUSIC MAKES ME HAPPY Chorus has welcomed two new members just in the past several weeks: Emily Athanasiadis from Lexington and Adam Traganos from Woburn. They are already a nice addition to our chorus family and we are so happy to have them with us!
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Donations Received
First we want to acknowledge and thank all of our generous patrons who have given us donations, both pre-quarantine and since that time.
Your gifts are so appreciated!
We are happy to report that we have received two very generous donations recently: grant money from the Loretto Community as a result of a grant proposal submitted by our dedicated chorus volunteer Mary Lou Pierron; and a generous check from Warren Lammert, father of our beloved chorus member Sylvie. We are very grateful for these donations, especially in this year when we didn’t ask for any registration fees from our singers.
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Amazon Smile
During this time of COVID most of us have resorted to buying many of our
necessities online, a lot from Amazon. If you simply make your purchase on AmazonSmile.com, a small percent of your purchase price will be donated to the MMMH Chorus. You will pay the same price but it will help us. Please name Music Makes Me Happy, Inc. as your non-profit organization to support with your Amazon purchases through the AmazonSmile program – here are the signup instructions.
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Gratitude
This has been a hard and challenging year for all of us. A consistent ongoing bright spot has been our weekly chorus meetings. Being with such kind, caring, loving, supportive friends and singing such wonderful songs has been a blessing and has done a lot in lifting our spirits! Thanks to all of our members, families, staff, and visitors!
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Wearing our Masks
Although meeting on Zoom has not required mask-wearing, we have all put on our masks to show each other. And each chorus evening ends with Marsha saying: “Keep Smiling, Keep Singing, and Keep Wearing Your Mask.” Until we are told that our safety no longer depends on that, we will keep wearing our masks, keeping our distance, and following all of the guidelines because we want everyone in good health when it is time for us to be together again.
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Thank you for supporting the Music Makes Me Happy Chorus!
If you are interested in donating to the chorus, please visit our website
(www.mmmh-singers.org).
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