"Sing" | Reflection by Karen Isaacs

Singing, by blending words and music enhances each. Scientists say it reaches a different part of the brain than words alone. Even patients who respond to very little, will respond to music.  As I was sitting beside my husband at hospice, I sang to him. Any song that came to mind. He might not be present but I felt he heard me.

Singing and music have been a part of my life since birth. My parents said I warbled “Give Me Five Minutes More” as a toddler. I was surrounded by records (remember those?) introducing me to classical music, operetta, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Broadway shows.

You can say that my connection to Trinity began long before my birth through singing. My grandfather was in the first boys’ choir, my father took lessons in the 1920s on the Trinity organ, a brother and a sister were in choirs.

I’ve studied voice since college; singing is a part of my being, a way to connect to my spirituality, my joy, my sorrow. A way to share my feelings and talents. In the last decade or so, I’ve studied cabaret performance which is a very personal way to connect with an audience.

But music is so much more. Listen to a choir, singers and an orchestra, or just an instrumental group.  All work together, blend, harmonize even in the most difficult atonal music. Each contributes talent and emotion; each lets others shine.

One could say that this is a metaphor for what we would hope for the world. A world where contributing, sacrificing, unity and blending together are the norm.

Caption: This photo was taken by my father (Paul Klebe) of my oldest brother (also Paul) as a choir boy at Trinity, 1938-40.