For a lot of us, singing in a choir sounds like something that requires an audition, years of training, or at least the ability to read music. Encore Creativity for Older Adults asks for none of it. What it does ask is that you’re 55 or older, and registration for the fall semester just opened.
Three New York City ensembles are taking singers this fall, and the closest one to home meets on Wednesday afternoons:
- Encore Chorale NYC West: Wednesdays, 1:30 to 3 p.m. at Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 West 114th Street), led by conductor Bernadette Hoke
- Encore Chorale NYC East: Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Park Avenue United Methodist Church (106 East 86th Street), also led by Hoke
- Encore ROCKS NYC: Tuesdays, 1:30 to 3 p.m. at Park Avenue United Methodist Church (106 East 86th Street), led by conductor Andrew Links
The two chorales work through four-part repertoire, while ROCKS is for singers who’d rather spend the season on rock ‘n’ roll. Encore describes the semester as a musical experience built around connection, creativity, and lifelong learning, and the ensembles are meant to be as welcoming to someone who hasn’t sung since high school as to a lifelong chorister. No audition is required for any of them. There are online options for singers who’d rather join from home, plus Encore chorales in cities across the country.
Registration is open now at encorecreativity.org/registration/.
