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Encore Rocks With AARP
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Curiosity, fun, delight. When you hear people talk about Encore, these are the words you’re sure to hear. They all describe a unique experience built around music.
Encore is the nation’s largest choral arts organization. It boasts more than 2,000 singers and 60 ensembles. What makes it special isn’t the numbers, though. It’s the mission.
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Encore’s choirs are curated for older adults to engage with their community through music.
“We are an organization that is dedicated to bringing people together through the arts, in an environment that provides an opportunity for lifelong learning,” says Kathryn Harsha, Encore’s artistic director for programming. “Encore is an opportunity to sing but much more than that, an opportunity to continue to learn and grow even as our bodies age.”
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Anyone 55 and older can participate in an Encore ensemble, regardless of musical experience. Singers spend a season learning new music weekly. They can remain seated for these 90-minute rehearsals, led by a professional chorale director.
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AARP volunteer and Encore participant, Vivian Martin, describes this process as enjoyable, rewarding and challenging.
“It was fun because of the songs,” says Martin. “They were a way of building community, of establishing certain values about how we respect each other within the community.”
Martin has been in choirs since she was a teenager. Still, she doesn’t describe herself as a professional musician. “Curious,” is how she describes her initial reaction to Encore.
“I didn’t know anything about Encore,” she says. “It sounded interesting.”
The experience of singing in an Encore ensemble introduced Martin to music she might’ve otherwise never sung. Through that, she was able to listen to that music through the ears of others who have loved it for years.
“I saw how the music itself was able to draw people a little closer, create conversation where there wasn’t any before,” she says. “Most of the music was from the 40s, the 70s, and so as you’re going through the music, people are talking about different things: ‘Oh, I remember when…’”
Music as a tool for brain health through memory is one of the keys to the Encore experience.
“Music sparks memories,” shares Harsha. “There’s all this research around, if you can’t say a thing, you can sing a thing. And that can help your brain remember it.”
The wellness aspect of Encore is listed on their website as a core component of their mission. Singing in an Encore choir is about community and joy, but also about engaging a part of your time that is often neglected in older age.
“It’s a way to help people stay sharp,” says Martin. “How do you communicate? How do you breathe well…? How do you get along with a soprano singing off tune?”
That’s where the lifelong learning element of Encore kicks in. Singers are challenged with learning the notes, the words and the rhythms of the repertoire. “It was work!” shares Martin. “But it’s a fun activity.”
What keeps participants coming back, week after week, is the joy of experiencing music in a new and rewarding way. “There’s something about music that just really connects us all,” says Harsha. “Whether you’re singing or whether you’re in the audience. It’s just a fun experience.”
For the singers, the music becomes both a stress-reliever and a healthy challenge. Performing a song gives you a new perspective on it, compared to if you were listening to it on a record.
“Singing brings people together, and there’s a collective spirit you don’t see in individual people,” says Martin. “It was a way to be engaged in a positive experience that could transform your spirit, your positivity, your outlook on life.”
Harsha and Martin have both been in musical spaces for years. It’s not lost on either of them that, for someone with less experience, an opportunity like Encore can seem more intimidating than welcoming. The benefits of being apart of an ensemble, however, are the reason they encourage others to put their fears aside.
“There can be a stigma around singing, but the reality is every single one of us can sing one way or another,” says Harsha. “If you can talk, you can sing.”
Encore doesn’t require an audition. All you have to do is show up. For the first few rehearsals, you don’t have to commit. Simply come, experience and decide whether it’s right for you.
“I would tell anyone, just try it out,” says Martin. “Even those who didn’t have any musical experience before, they were able to accomplish the goal at the end.”
For Harsha, participants who haven’t sang in a long time, or who have little experience, are one of the most exciting aspects of Encore. “One of the coolest things about being older is the chance to reinvent yourself,” she says. “As we work in specific fields and professions for years and years, we get a sense of ‘who we are.’ As our bodies age, we realize that, in fact, there’s still time to do all kinds of things that we loved.”
Deciding to simply check out the Encore ensemble could lead you to a community you never expected. Once you’ve made the decision to show up, the next steps come easier.
“We often say, in the music world, the very hardest part about practicing is getting yourself on that bench and sitting in front of the piano,” says Harsha. “The getting there can feel like the big hurdle.”
The payoff of overcoming the hurdle is enormous: a concert, where all the work is put on display for family and friends. These concerts aren’t your typical concert-going experience. Encore encourages people to dance, bring their kids and celebrate the music the ensemble has made.
“I really did not see the full impact of Encore until the concert,” says Martin. “The minute we had to actually walk out on stage was where the formation that had been going on for all those weeks finally just kicked in, and it was as if we had performed for years together.”
After the concert and the week of rehearsals, Encore likes to ask its participants about the experience. The word Harsha and her team have heard most often: delight. The participants described the experience as delightful.
“That’s so exciting,” Harsha says, “no matter how old you are, to have the opportunity to be delighted.”
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