CBV’S CHOIR HITS ALL THE RIGHT NOTES
Wednesday afternoons at Central Baptist Village are busy ones, spiritually and musically speaking. First, the choir director and pianist start rehearsing around 12:15 p.m. Choir members arrive by 1:15 p.m. and practice for 30 minutes. Then at 2 p.m., the choir performs during church service.
“They are amazing,” Julie Ieron says. “As soon as the music starts, they sing their hearts out.”
Joyce and Julie Ieron are the musical mother-and-daughter dynamic duo that has been bringing music and no small amount of happiness to Central Baptist Village and its residents for nine years, even during the pandemic.
CBV’s previous organist asked Joyce and Julie to play while she was on vacation. “We were only meant to fill in for a few weeks,” Julie says. But the woman retired, leaving Joyce and Julie the de facto music directors. “My father had died, and my mother was feeling like her talents would just dry up.” The opportunity was a lifeline for Joyce and they both forged a deep connection with the community. “Mom and I definitely think of this as our church family.”
As choir members continue to arrive, Joyce sits at the piano and quickly runs through the music for that afternoon’s service, lingering over and then repeating measures she’s not happy with... until she is.
Julie moves more chairs to the front of the room where the
choir sits, leaving room at the ends of the rows so residents in wheelchairs can easily line up with the rest of the chairs. She welcomes the group of mostly women and directs them to the first song they’ll rehearse. In this crazy time of variants and vaccines, COVID still has the last word: no hymnals or sheet music. The lyrics are projected onto the wall of the chapel and synchronized with the music. The choir follows along as Joyce plays. Julie conducts them with her hands, occasionally calling out an instruction.
“Before COVID we had 30 people singing in the choir,” Julie explains. The choir was able to resume meeting in August of 2021 (fully masked), but some residents are still leery of group events. “Right now we have eight to ten
residents who regularly sing... so we’re building back up,” she says. “We’ll get there.”
The song they are working on is lovely, but it is not easy to sing. The phrasing and rhythm of the lyrics are challenging. It isn’t clear how long the residents have been practicing it, but they sound good. Great, in fact. And surprisingly loud. Strong.
By the time practice is over, four more people have joined the group, including one man who just comes to listen.
As the chapel fills with the residents' voices, it's hard to say which is bringing more joy their singing or the sunshine pouring into the bright airy space.