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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com
Matters of the harp Music ministry provides peace and healing BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com
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or almost three years, harpist Kipper Ackerman has been playing primarily for hospital patients, residents of assisted living facilities, patients in infusion rooms at cancer treatment centers and other medical sites. Her first such performance was in a patient room at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. “I noticed it gave such comfort and peace to the patient,” Ackerman said, “and also to her daughter, even the hospital staff.” She said at the time, “I saw what the Lord was doing through the music, not just for the patients, but it turned out to be a ministry to the staff, the administration, the doctors and myself, too. “I wanted to take that to the community.” Ackerman determined to continue to help as many people as she could. It was her brother, Garrett Edens, who suggested she turn her harp ministry into a nonprofit organization. A few months later, in October 2012, Sounds of Grace was born. The ministry grew to include other musicians, including five young harpists, three of whom still study with Ackerman. Sounds of Grace has presented two concerts for the public at the Sumter Opera House, where the harpists were joined by other instruments, including drums, trumpet and strings. She has been playing harp for 27 years, having received her concert grand pedal harp from her grandfather, the late Curt Edens. “He was completely nonmusical,” Ackerman said, “but he heard a harp and fell in love with it and decided I needed to learn to play. We drove to Columbia and back
every week for a long time so I could take lessons.” The name Sounds of Grace came to her, she said, “After spending a lot of time in my house playing. It really started to sound like grace to me.” Ackerman admitted her children have been very patient with their house’s being constantly filled with harp music. “Once when I was playing for some visitors, one woman remarked ‘That must be what it sounds like in heaven.’ I heard my kids in another room say, ‘Oh no! We’ll have to listen to it there, too?’” She plays for weddings and private events, in addition to her harp ministry, but in the past three years, Ackerman said, “I have seen a special place for the harp. It’s a very intense experience, just the confirmation of how the harp can be an instrument of peace and healing in a hospital setting.” Many patients have been surprised to hear a harp in a medical facility, too. “I sometimes get looks of puzzlement when people see me playing,” Ackerman said, “and a lot of them just assume someone must be dying. But the music is calming for anyone.” Although she plays for many who are ill, she said she has herself felt blessed by them. And the ministry often provides a laugh or two for her, too. Ackerman said she is often surprised by the attitudes and humor of many who benefit from the ministry. “I was playing for a woman I thought at first was asleep,” Ackerman said. “She kept her eyes closed the whole time I was playing, and she didn’t respond. I was beginning to worry, and I leaned over to check on her, and she suddenly opened her eyes, pointed her finger at me and
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO
ABOVE: Harpist Kipper Ackerman is joined by David Shoemaker on drums in a past concert by the Sounds of Grace, a music ministry Ackerman founded to provide “peace and healing” through music to those in healthcare facilities. BELOW: Ackerman performed a “mini-concert” for a downtown business last week. said. ‘Gotcha!’” Ackerman keeps a busy pace playing at medical and long term care facilities, weddings and other special events, lugging her 88-pound harp from place to place in her SUV and on foot using a dolly. She is also the harpist for the Florence Symphony Orchestra. “I’m energized by the ministry,” she said, “but my harp is very tired. It’s 27 years old, which is very old for a harp, and it gets used a lot more than most.” That means she has to take it to Atlanta to be “regulated,” a process similar to a major auto tune-up, at least every two years. “It really needs to be replaced,” Ackerman said, “but good concert harps are very expensive, ranging in price from $18,000 up to about $80,000. I have my eye on a couple that cost much less but still sound good and are durable.” At 7 p.m. Friday, she will present a free concert for the public at the historic Church of the Holy Cross at
Stateburg. “I’ll play mostly sacred selections,” Ackerman said, “along with some original compositions.” She added that there will be “some surprise local musicians, some things you might not expect to hear. We try to shake things up a little. This is our first concert in about a year.” Admission is free, but those attending will have the opportunity to donate to the ministry and/or the purchase of a new harp for the 501c3 nonprofit Sounds of Grace. There are two other upcoming concerts in April and June. Dates have not yet been confirmed; however, one will be a concert, while the other will be dinner accompanied by harp music. Ackerman is also looking for volunteers to join the minis visit patients in healthcare facilities and other places where the soothing music will help heal those who are physically or emotionally stressed. Contact Ackerman at kipper@thesoundsofgrace.com.
Visit the website www.thesoundsofgrace.com for more information.
Last surviving member of ‘The Honeymooners’ recalls experiences BY NICK THOMAS Tinseltown Talks
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rom “I Love Lucy” and “All in the Family” to “Married with Children” and “Seinfeld,” structuring a sitcom around four lead characters has often proved a successful formula. “It was the perfect format for ‘The Honeymooners,’” said Joyce Randolph, who starred as Trixie in the popular 1950s series based on two tenement-dwelling RANDOLPH couples – the Kramdens and the Nortons. As the sole surviving member of the original series cast – which included Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows – Randolph, who turned 90 last year, continues to be identified with the show. “I worked mostly in theater and early TV, but people still recognize me as Trixie,” said Randolph. “I’m amazed by the show’s longevity.” “The Honeymooners” was originally a series of short sketches on the DuMont Network’s “Cavalcade of Stars,” and later featured regularly on “The Jackie Gleason Show” at CBS. “I had done a breath mint commercial and got a call that Jackie wanted ‘that serious actor’ to audition for a skit called ‘The Honeymooners’ and to play the sewer worker’s wife,” recalled Randolph. “It didn’t pay much, and my character was less developed than the other three, but I was happy to have a job.” Gleason soon recognized that the chemistry between himself, Carney, Meadows and Randolph had sitcom potential and expanded “The Hon-
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The cast of “The Honeymooners” is pictured in a scene from the popular 1950s comedy. From left, they are Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph. Randoph, who played Trixie, is the only surviving member of the cast. eymooners” into a half-hour series that ran initially for 39 episodes during 1955-1956. The show was filmed with a live audience at the Adelphi Theater in Manhattan, and generally without full rehearsals. “Jackie hated to rehearse and wanted shows to be spontaneous, so Art, Audrey and me would go over the script together on Saturday mornings,” said Randolph. “Jackie ran everything and nobody told him what to do. He was extremely talented, and for a big guy was incredibly light on his feet doing physical comedy. For one roller-skating skit, I went with Art and
Audrey to practice at a roller-skating palace here in New York. But we never saw Jackie practice. He just came out on the skates and amazed us.” Gleason, however, was not the most convivial of coworkers. “Jackie was a very strange man, not overly friendly and very moody,” said Randolph. “He just never sat around and talked. Andrey was very professional and would have the whole script memorized. If Jackie forgot a line, she got him back on track. “Art was quiet and it was wellknown he had a long history of
problems with alcohol, but he was always sober at work and was a wonderful and talented guy.” And while fans like to imagine their sitcom stars from a favorite show paling around after hours, that wasn’t the case with “The Honeymooners” foursome. “We just didn’t hang out,” said Randolph. “At 9 o’clock, when we finished filming, we all went our own way.” Randolph continued in the role when it once again became part of a new Jackie Gleason Show. But when Gleason moved to Florida and revived the Honeymooners in several TV movies and in another show from 1966-1970, Randolph wasn’t invited. “Years later I saw Audrey and she said Jackie had looked for me, but couldn’t find me,” Randolph recalled. “Well, that was a lot of nonsense. Jackie wanted to use his long-time friend Jane Kean to play Trixie, and that’s what he did. But that was fine with me because I wasn’t going to move from New York where my husband had his job and I was happily raising my son. “When my time with ‘The Honeymooners’ ended, I never saw Jackie again.” But she does see devoted Honeymooners’ fans whenever out in public. “Strangers still come up and want to hug and kiss me and tell me how much they love the show,” she said. “You learn to accept it, but it’s fun and people are nice. The show continues to influence my life.” Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for more than 500 magazines and newspapers. Follow on Twitter @TinseltownTalks.