Barbershop harmony, which began in the 1890s, continues into a new century. One active group in the area is Jersey Harmony Chorus, a group of 25 stay-at-home moms, retirees, and women in the workforce.
“We have been in the Princeton area for more than 25 years but known as the Millstone Valley Chorus,” says Judy Katz of West Windsor, the communications team leader. “We feel that we are having a new beginning now with the new name and new director.##M:[more]##
The group hosted a celebration and get acquainted event for their new director, Rich Gray, who also sings lead in the Barbershop Harmony Society top-10 International quartet, Wheelhouse, in July. At the event performers included Jersey Harmony Chorus, Wheelhouse, the Sweet Adeline Region 15 Champion Quartet, Escape, and a number of invited Sweet Adeline and community quartets. The occasion was held at Trinity Church in Princeton.
Katz, a stay-at-home mom for more than 20 years, found the group when she was walking through MarketFair with her son in a stroller. The chorus was singing in the center court and she stopped to listen to a few songs. “I stayed to talk to members and the following Tuesday I was at a rehearsal,” she says.
Music was not new to her life — she played the piano for 12 years and the stereo was always on at home. “My schedule in high school did not allow me to be in the glee club,” she says. “Looking back I don’t know why I did not join chorus in college.”
She was born and raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College. During her college years she met her future husband, Alan, who was born and raised on Long Island and was studying at Long Island University in Brooklyn.
They moved to West Windsor when he began working at Merrill Lynch in Plainsboro. A security trader, he continues to work in the same office for Black Rock. They have two sons.
Steven, a graduate of High School South, Class of 2001, is a student at Bethany College. This summer he is interning at a radio station in the Hamptons — playing classic oldies. Randy, a graduate of High School North, Class of 2006, is a student at Muhlenberg College. Although she did not have a singing background, being able to read sheet music certainly helps her learn songs for the chorus. “Most people learn the music in the car,” she says. While most transfer mp3 recordings to their iPods, many use CDs. The 10 to 12 minute trip to Mercer Community College, where she works for the purchasing department, allows Katz to learn most songs within a week.
Also Nancy Halter of Plainsboro decided to join the group after hearing the Millstone Valley Chorus perform at a holiday concert at the College of New Jersey. “I was very impressed by the wonderful sound and quality of their music and the joy with which they were singing,” she says. “Singing barbershop style music is new to me but I love it.”
Halter, who has always loved to sing, has been a member of many different choirs. A member of the Sanctuary Choir at Montgomery Evangelical Free Church in Hillsborough, she is a former member of the choirs of Princeton Presbyterian Church and Christ Congregation Church in Princeton.
Halter takes voice lessons with Katie Blackwood, Sweet Adeline chorus director, teacher, and barbershop quartet coach. She also plays guitar and sings pop-folk style music with Carla Zimowsk, her musical partner.
“I also enjoy the comraderie with the new friends I have made in the chorus,” she says about Jersey Harmony. “I felt an immediate bond with these women because of our love for singing.”
Raised in Highland Park and Schooley’s Mountain, she left New Jersey to study at Eastern Kentucky University in 1977. After graduating with a degree in art education, she moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she taught painting and sculpture to adults.
She returned to New Jersey in 1989 and began teaching art in WW-P schools. She has been an art teacher at Upper Elementary School (now Millstone River) since it opened in 1990.
Halter lives in Plainsboro with her husband, Dave, and their two dogs, Chloe and Ginger. They spend summers at their other home on Lake Eaton in the Adirondack Mountains in Long Lake, New York. Her stepson and daughter-in-law, Jim and Jennifer, live and work in New York City.
“Our new director, Rich Gray, is fantastic,” says Halter. “He makes rehearsals so much fun with his energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humor and at the same time is teaching us the technical and musical skills we need to perfect our sound.”
The group’s repertoire includes contemporary music, standards from the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, patriotic songs, and classical pieces. “I would encourage anyone who enjoys singing to come join us on Monday nights at Trinity Church in Princeton,” says Halter.
— Lynn Miller
Jersey Harmony Chorus, Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, 732-469-3983. New members are welcome. Monday, August 13, 7:15 p.m.
