In conjunction with noted area teacher, conductor, singer and composer Helen Kemp, the Bucks County Choral Society will present its first "Singing for Seniors" workshop on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, from 9:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with light lunch included. The workshop will be held in the Great Room at the Manor at Yorktown (2010 York Road, Jamison, PA 18929, south of the intersection of Almshouse Rd. and Rt. 263 /York Rd.). Admission is $15.00 and includes the workshop, lunch, and musical scores. Seating for this event is limited, so early registration is encouraged. The registration deadline is October 5.
Recent scientific studies show that singing in one’s golden years can have a salutary effect on emotional, physical, and mental vitality. The mission of the Singing for Seniors workshop is acknowledge this valuable asset, and to promote it to Bucks County’s growing population of 55+ seniors. In morning and afternoon sessions, Dr. Kemp will guide participants in a comprehensive and pleasurable singing experience designed to bring the joy and camaraderie of singing to seniors of all musical persuasions.
Workshop leader Dr. Kemp, whose solid conducting techniques and engaging personality make singing together a fun experience, has been training teachers, conductors and singers of all ages for more than six decades. She has guided and shaped successful choirs in schools, universities, churches and communities in all 50 states and around the world where her books and instructional materials for professionals and non-professionals have become standard resources. Upon her retirement, after two tenures on the faculty of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N. J., she was named Professor Emerita of Voice and Church Music and awarded an honorary doctorate. In 2003, Helen was the recipient of the Elaine Brown Award for Choral Excellence by the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania.
"In over 60 years of leading and composing for children's choirs all over the world, Helen Kemp has been preaching her memorable mantra: ‘Body, mind, spirit, voice: it takes the whole person to sing and rejoice!’", notes BCCS artistic director Thomas Lloyd. " Having just started up a choir in the community she now lives in at the Manor at Yorktown in Doylestown, she has been newly inspired to discover ways to apply her musical and spiritual energies to helping seniors get the most out of singing. I can't imagine anyone more perfect to demonstrate how singing can be a joy at any age!"
For more information about the Singing for Seniors Workshop, please contact the Bucks County Choral Society at 215.598.6142 or 215.348.8683, or visit us online at www.buckschoral.org.
