Joyful Voices reminds us music is ageless

By LINDA CHION KENNEY

Recognizing the power of music to lift spirits and connect to memories, the staff at The Bridges in Riverview this year launched Joyful Voices, a chorus open to both residents and community singers of all ages

Every Monday afternoon at The Bridges Clubhouse, starting at 1:30, singers gather under the direction of Janet Formato to prepare for the Joyful Voices spring concert, open to the public and set to start at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 26.

Joyful Voices Director Janet Formato, left, with singers Mavis Ballans, 92, right, and Nancy Wolf, 102, at The Bridges clubhouse in Riverview.

“I’m just impressed with how good they sound,” said Janet Noah, director of community relations for The Bridges, an assisted living and retirement community off Bloomingdale Avenue, at 11202 Dewhurst Drive. “What does music do? It brings joy to people. It’s good for the soul.”

Formato is the choir director at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Brandon. As a registered nurse, she worked 22 years in hospice care in Pennsylvania, where she witnessed firsthand music’s effect on ailing patients.

“I had a patient, a very intelligent man, a former stockbroker, who couldn’t speak,” she said. “He could only say a word or two — but then he could sing. Music is inherent in all of us, and if that music is important to you, it’s going to come out.”

At a recent Joyful Voices rehearsal, singers talked about the value of chorus participation, which Noah said is a blessing in many ways.

“You can see the smile on their faces,” she said. “You can see that they’re in the present moment when they’re singing. Music just fills their spirit. Music is good for all of us.”

Nancy Wolf, set to turn 103 this spring, collected her Joyful Voices songbook before standing for an interview.

LINDA CHION KENNEY PHOTOS
Joyful Voices singers pose for a photo after their Feb. 24 rehearsal at The Bridges in Riverview, under the directorship of Janet Formato. The group is set to stage its first concert 3 p.m. April 26.

“I love them, but I don’t sing good, but they say I do,” Wolf said, about the collection of songs that includes “Get Me to the Church on Time” and “Try To Remember,” from My Fair Lady and The Fantasticks, respectively.

“I’m trying hard,” Wolf added, about her music attentiveness. “I feel like I was born with it. My son is a musician, he plays in a band and I played the organ and piano.”

From left, Joyful Voices director Janet Formato; singer Sandy Sells, of Valrico; Janet Noah, director of community relations for The Bridges; and singer Evelyn Edick, of Brandon.

Standing next to Wolf, Mavis Ballans, 92, said singing is relaxing, and, at her age, “extremely important.” Music, she added, “lifts the spirit.”

Milton Newman said he has been singing for about 45 years and that the Joyful Voices singing group is “one of the better ones” he’s been involved with. “I’m having fun. It reminds me of my wife,” he added, noting that he is excited to have her in the audience for the upcoming concert. “When I sing, I’m singing to her.”

The singers gave high marks to Formato and to her chosen vocal selections, which singer Pat Ricciardi called, “very uplifting.”

“She’s very professional, and she knows how to direct,” said fellow chorus member Lucille Pianese. “It’s a thrill to work with her.” Music, as a way to “lift you up and exercise your lungs is very important,” Pianese added, “especially at this age.”

Sandy Sells and Evelyn Edick live in Valrico and Brandon, respectively. They said they joined Joyful Voices to be active and to reconnect to singing.

“At some point I stopped going to church, and when I grew up I was always in the church choir,” Sells said. “If you don’t sing in a church choir, where else would you sing? So [Joyful Voices] fills that void. I’m just very happy about this group.”

LINDA CHION-KENNEY PHOTOS
Joyful Voices, in rehearsal Feb. 24, at The Bridges in Riverview. The group meets Mondays, 1:30 to 2:30, and is open to both residents and community members.

Edick, who grew up next door to the man who would be her husband, said they had 65 years together, and that about 30 years ago, they performed together in an upstate New York production of Camelot.

If he were here today, to witness her Joyful Voices participation, Edick said she would tell him, “Help me!” As for what she believes he would tell her: “You’re fine.”

Indeed, more than fine were the voices joining together in chorus at the Feb. 24 rehearsal at The Bridges, where songs practiced included “Edelweiss” and “Tomorrow,” from The Sound of Music and Annie, respectively.

“I just wanted to get people together who have enjoyed singing,” Formato said, about her reasons for taking the job as Joyful Voices director. “Also, for the older people who have had some memory loss, maybe these older songs we’re singing will spark something in them and bring back some happy memories.”

As she watched the rehearsal, Noah couldn’t help herself; she started singing along, having noted earlier that “you can see the smiles on their faces, that they’re in the present moment when they’re singing.”

As Joyful Voices singer Tom Rossell put it, music “fills a void that nothing else can fill.”

For more on Joyful Voices, call Noah at 813-413-8900. For information about The Bridges Assisted Living and Retirement Community, visit www.bridgesretirement.com.