BRATTLEBORO — The Estey Organ Museum will provide a creative singing and musical history experience, as well as bring the many health benefits of singing for seniors in Windham County starting this May for seven weeks of musical classes.
No singing experience is required, and the program is free for adults aged 60 and older.
According to a news release, a Creative Aging Grant from the Vermont Arts Council, supporting community-building in and through the arts for older adults in Vermont, was awarded to the Estey Organ Museum to support older adults singing and performing Tin Pan Alley songs through a collaboration of the museum and Susan Rosano, a Vermont Master Teaching Artist.
Rosano has trained with Lifetime Arts of Vermont to design creative aging programs that include skill-based instructional lessons and intentional social engagement opportunities. She will be working in cooperation with Dr. Dennis Waring, ethnomusicologist, musician, master teaching artist, and president of the Estey Organ Museum's Board of Trustees.
In this series, singers will be accompanied by The Green Mountain Strummers ukulele group and an organist playing one of the organs in the Estey Organ Museum collection.
In addition to singing together, participants can discover the historical value of the songs and enjoy weekly socializing with refreshments at the museum.
The first six sessions will be about learning, singing, and sharing. The seventh session will be a culminating concert. All sessions will be at the Estey Organ Museum, starting Wednesday, May 17, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and socializing from 2:30 to 3 p.m.
The class meets each following Wednesday at the same time for the remaining five weeks. The concert at the Estey Organ Museum is set for Saturday, June 24, at 1 p.m.
To sign up for the program, contact Rosano at 802-254-6201 or [email protected].