The American House Choir opens for the Michigan Philharmonic at Lake St. Clair Metropark during Navy Week 2012.Metro Detroit — It began as a life enrichment program at American House Senior Living Communities in Michigan, but this choir has blossomed into a local musical sensation.
The idea for the American House Choir was sparked in March 2012 when residents at the American House Village location in Rochester Hills were asked what the community could do for them.
“Many of them felt strongly that they wanted to sing,” said Daniel Greig, the choir’s director. Angie Kadowaki, who was lifestyle director for American House Village at the time, then contacted Greig, who also is the director of music ministry at St. Mary of the Hills Parish, Rochester Hills.
“I had worked with Angie at St. Mary’s and her daughter, Hanna, used to sing in my children’s choir, so Angie was familiar with my style of directing and encouraging music to happen,” Greig said.
Kadowaki invited Greig to sing some show tunes with the residents one day, and before long the residents were smiling and remembering days gone by; it was clear that a choir was meant to be.
American House Choir Director Daniel Greig and choir member Laura Sias run over a song before rehearsal.“We have a good mix,” said Kevin Kieninger, public relations and communications coordinator for American House. “When we first started, it was led by people who throughout their lives were in choir, or played music as children, or performed more seriously. But it’s also for our residents who want to get involved and who many not have a specifically musical gift, per se.”
Kieninger said the residents care about music in a way many in younger generations do not.
“During their childhoods it was so much a part of who they were,” he said. “I think it allows them to connect in a different way.”
On Sept. 11, 2012, the choir performed at St. Mary of the Hills for students of several local elementary schools. The students were invited to sing along to the patriotic songs, and later had the chance to introduce the residents to newer songs from the students’ generation.
“We sang for them, they sang for us, and we both sang together,” Greig said. “After our performance, the students were able to speak with our residents and to thank them for coming, but more importantly, they exchanged smiles, handshakes, and stories … It was clear to me that this exchange of music and stories should be at the forefront of our choir’s mission.”
Kieninger summarized it as “a way to break down that intergenerational barrier with common songs.”
Besides the main American House Choir of approximately 70 residents from the 30 different American House locations, a specialty choir called Harmony in the House was also formed. Singing in four-part harmony and offering local performances at events for veterans, holidays and local schools, this choir is audition-only.
Typical musical performances for the American House singers consist in patriotic music, as well as music from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Show tunes are also being added to the collection.
“It always amazes me how residents can remember lyrics from 60 years ago,” Greig said, “and the stories they can share with me as they remember where they were when they heard a certain song, or whom they were in love with at the time that ‘Moon River’ was popular.”
The crowd listens as the American House Choir performs their repertoire of patriotic staples during Navy Week 2012.Greig finds the experience of being a director for both the American House Choir and the choirs at St. Mary of the Hills to be personally uplifting. Having directed church choirs for more than 15 years, he never expected the American House Choir to feed him as spiritually as any other choir he has led.
“To hear the residents sing together and share music is usually the joy of my week,” he said. “I look forward to rehearsal as much as they do, to hear their stories, to see the joy that music brings, and to be reminded that we all made in the image of God, old and young alike.”
