Singing for Seniors Workshop
Fall 2025
Thursday, November 13, 2025
10:30 am – 2:00 pm
Foulkways at Gwynedd
1120 Meetinghouse Road, Gwynedd, PA
$20 fee includes clinicians, music, & lunch
$15 for non-singing attendees
Registration deadline Nov. 5, 2025
Open to both individuals and senior choirs!
Festival sessions will include morning vocal exercises and large group choral instruction led by Contus Novus director Edward Mcall.
Participants will enjoy lunch together followed by performance opportunities.
W. Edward McCall
Artistic Director, Cantus Novus
Since 2005, the Choral Society’s Singing for Seniors program has held two festivals annually. Artistic Director Thomas Lloyd invited the late Helen Kemp, emeritus professor of Westminster Choir College and then conductor of a resident choir at The Manor of Yorktown in Jamison to join him in establishing a new program to support senior singers and the growing number of senior choirs in our region. Since the first festival, over 3,000 seniors have participated.
Helen Kemp was fond of saying, “You don’t stop singing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop singing.” And, it has been shown that singing into one’s golden years promotes emotional, physical, and mental vitality.
All senior communities are encouraged to form choirs with this concept in mind. Whether you sing with a newly formed choir, one in existence for decades, are part of an organized choir, retirement community, or on your own, all senior singers are encouraged to attend.
The Choral Society’s Singing for Seniors program has been nationally recognized through Chorus America, the choral industry’s national association. Singing for Seniors festivals are held once in the fall and once in the spring. Anyone interested in providing volunteer help and is part of any Bucks and Montgomery County senior center or community seeking more information can contact our event organizers.
Singing for Seniors
May 2025
Thank you to everyone who participated in Singing for Seniors in May!
On Thursday, May 8, sixty seniors met in the auditorium of Holland Village in Holland, PA to join their voices in song. Accompanied by our own Tim Harrell, the group was comprised of singers from the Delaware Valley Choral Society, Gwynedd Estates Chorale, Pennswood Village and Pine Run Village as well as several individual singers. Our clinician for the day was Helen Kemp protege Kirsten Olson, a conductor and music educator from Collegeville, PA.
Kirsten arranged two songs specifically for our group to learn - Lord, I Know I Been Changed and I Thank You for Another Day as well as Mark Miller's Love has Broken Down the Wall. The music was enthusiastically received.
The assembled singers learned the pieces in record time - a great bunch of musicians! After learning the selections, the singers broke for lunch and fellowship. The Delaware Valley Choral Society, under the leadership of our own Teresa Newman, sang two pieces. Pine Run Village Voices, conducted by Susan Johnson, also sang a piece after which Kirsten gave thoughtful feedback.
Following those offerings, the whole group reprised all three songs learned in the morning. A wonderful day was had by all!
Many thanks to organizers Eric and Mary Muth who did the lion's share of the work for this event. Appreciation was also expressed to our ambassadors for the day - Judy Fay, Jane Greaser, Claire Ma, and Susan Scott.
—Sue Johnson
