Singing programs for older adults plan Wilmington debut

Nov 7, 2022 • 3 min. read | By Miriah Hamrick

Encore Creativity for Older Adults, which organizes chorale programs for adults ages 55 and over in cities across the country, is coming to Wilmington early next year. (Photo by Christian Amonson, Seeing Sound/Courtesy of Encore Creativity)

 

Two new choral offerings are coming to Wilmington next year with programs tailored to the unique abilities and needs of older adults. 

 

Maryland-based Encore Creativity for Older Adults is expanding its family of more than two dozen ensembles into southeastern North Carolina in January. CEO Joshua Vickery said the organization specializes in creating an empowering and enriching experience for older adults, who he described as an underserved population in the arts. 

 

“We make sure that we think specifically about the older adult in the venues that we choose, the music that we choose. We make accommodations if someone needs to sit during the concert, or have a music stand because they might not be stable enough to hold the music while singing,” Vickery said. 

 

The unique vocal range available to older adults is another consideration, he added. 

 

“Just like with speaking voices, as we age, our voice timbre and range and all that changes. Those high notes that you might have been able to belt out in your 20s, 30s and 40s, you might not have that as an 80-year-old,” Vickery said.

 

However, participation in the singing groups is not limited to those with musical talent – or even musical experience. None of Encore’s programs require an audition, and Vickery emphasized that “anyone and everyone” is welcome to participate. This is true of both Encore programs coming to Wilmington: Encore Chorale of Cape Fear, which Vickery described as “a standard choral setting,” and Sentimental Journey Singers of Cape Fear, which is offered to people in the early stages of cognitive change along with their caregivers.

 

Participants in the Encore Chorale of Cape Fear will work with a professional conductor at Cameron Arts Museum for 90 minutes per week for 15 weeks in preparation for a culminating concert. Without any audition or prerequisites for admission, Vickery said members in this type of group generally bring a range of abilities and past musical experiences, with some who have never done anything like it before. It’s the diversity, he added, that makes it work.

 

“The varying levels of experience help everyone rise to a higher level,” he said. 

 

The cost to join the Encore Chorale of Cape Fear is $190, which includes access to the music and all other needed resources. Scholarships are available for those who need financial assistance to participate, Vickery said. 

 

The organization’s other offering, Sentimental Journey Singers, is free. Vickery said this resource can be a powerful option for those experiencing dementia or other types of cognitive decline. 

 

“The last part of our brain that goes is the part that understands and recognizes music,” he said.

 

Vickery outlined numerous benefits available to those who join either option. The organization was founded 15 years ago based on results from a pilot program commissioned by the National Endowment for Arts that showed the impact of weekly music and choral participation.

 

“The findings were remarkable. The benefits of singing and the benefits of community for the older adults who got that experience were less doctor visits, decrease in medication, social benefits, all sorts of things,” Vickery said. 

 

For more information about joining the Encore Chorale of Cape Fear or Sentimental Journey Singers, including how to register to participate, click here