City Choir Valentines

For the Love of Singing
In the City Choir of Washington we think of
ourselves as a family—and in honor of Valentine’s
Day, we are spotlighting some of our family’s
romantic partnerships. For many members of City
Choir, our better halves provide unsung support
behind the scenes: tirelessly supporting TCCW
events, driving to and from rehearsals, ushering at
concerts, and never missing a show. Some
couples even sing together in
City Choir, making harmony
together at home
and across the
risers.
We hope you enjoy some of our TCCW love stories!

"Mike and I have decided that our favorite City Choir memory as a couple
centers around the World War I Centennial Concert on 11 November 2018
—Mike getting to set up the exhibit of his WWI artifacts in the parlor of
National Presbyterian was SUCH a treat and an honor for BOTH of us! At
one point, as he was standing back surveying the flow of the passersby
through the exhibit, he noticed one group of ladies talking animatedly
together as they came through. One of them approached him and said, 'Can
you tell us something about this display? We're friends with one of the choir
members–Audrey–and her husband set up this exhibit, but we don't know
very much about it. YOU look like you might have some idea!' To which
Mike replied, 'Why yes, I can, because that would be me.' He and I are still
laughing about his encounter with my friend Dana over two years later!
Here's hoping to build more favorite City
Choir memories in the not-too-distant
future!"
~ Blessings, Audrey
Mike & A2 Audrey
Bigelow

"From the start, music and singing were something that brought us
together. We had each grown up in musical families (three of Dan’s aunts
are choir teachers!) and we had always sung in choirs. So when we made the
move to DC, it was obvious that this would be our chosen commitment and
community.
Since we worked in opposite directions and D.C. can be an such an
overwhelming and transient city, choir was something to share and connect
us to our new home. We were fortunate to find such a welcoming and likeminded
community at City Choir and are so grateful to be a part of such a
talented and committed group of musicians."
B1 Dan Bullinger &
S1 Hallie Skripak Gordon

Glenda Finley and Frank Maddox have combined Glenda’s love of singing
with the couple’s love of travel. In fact, Glenda says, "when Frank and I wed
in 1999, we postponed a honeymoon knowing that we would be traveling
to Italy on a choir tour the following June, 2000. We have been traveling
ever since."
As a couple, one of their favorite experiences with City Choir was naturally
the 2018 England tour. With friends around the globe, Glenda and Frank
are able to socialize even on a choir tour: "Frank and I traveled to England
together, jumped off the plane and visited Stonehenge without so much as a
change of clothes. After Stonehenge, we arranged before we left DC to meet
our former neighbors at Salisbury Cathedral. After our bite to eat in the
Salisbury Cafeteria, we walked right in to Robert and Annette Jackson who
had been our British neighbors for 4 years." We hope they were able to see
Glenda sing the next day at Gloucester Cathedral!
S2 Glenda Finley &
Frank Maddox

"I love singing in City Choir with my husband. Often it's the only time
we see each other all day when we are both awake! I love shared moments
in rehearsal, like looking across the room at him whenever Bob says
something about his section, with my, 'Yeah, Dummy!' look, or laughing
together with him over something hilarious Bob has said. My favorite part
though, is when Bob brings something truly, gloriously perfect out of the
music. You know, one of those moments when it feels like you are
getting just a glimpse of heaven. Those moments make it all worthwhile
for each of us, but what makes it really special in City Choir is that Will is
with me, that we get to share in that moment."
~ Jennifer Gotten
B1 Will & S2 Jennifer
Gotten

Jon and Barbara Greene, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary, have been a part of the City Choir extended family since 2009.
They have enjoyed entertaining both the City Singers and the Season
Underwriters at their Annapolis, Maryland, home, and more recently at the
Annapolis Yacht Club.
The couple’s grown daughters live out of state, but are frequent donors to
City Choir.
One of their happiest memories is when their two granddaughters were
able to attend a Twelfth Night performance and finally hear “Grammy”
sing live in concert.
Jon & A2 Barbara
Greene

"Our favorite memory is when the City Choir went to New York City for
the Defiant Requiem in 2013. We took a bus up there with the choir. We
had a great time eating with the Riggs (Drew and Beth) at the rest stop
both going up and coming back. We met a lot of the chorus then and
enjoyed seeing the city and eating with different people. We had a
wonderful time singing together and talking about Bob on the way home.
It's nice to share the experience of making music. Simon is the one who
got me involved with the City Singers. I wasn't used to singing in a small
group and now I have sung both soprano and both alto parts and have
even been the accompanist!"
~ Lynn Kaplan
S1 Lynn & T2 Simon
Kaplan

"My dear husband Sam was always such a wonderful support of my involvement with City Choir and of City
Choir itself from the year we began and even before during the years with TWC. He came to every City
Choir concert and he even served as City Choir usher for several years. It often seemed to fall upon him to seat
the Washington Post critic (when they still came to review our concerts) and he always tried to make sure that
person was comfortable with the seat to which he escorted them. He would always come to all the special
activities of the Choir, such as fundraisers and picnics, etc., and if there was ever any help needed when he was
there, he would offer to assist. He always seemed to make any event more fun by his playful presence. The
memory I recall most of Sam’s continuing willingness to support me and City Choir was bittersweet. This was
when he insisted on accompanying me on the Choir’s fundraising Potomac River cruise in May 2015, despite
the fact that he was really feeling much weaker due to his cancer. He knew how much I enjoyed being with
my choir friends and participating in these events and he simply wanted to do his best to support my desire to
be with the choir, knowing that I would not go without him. Sadly, he passed away less than 2 months later.
He was one supportive and selflessly generous guy and I miss him everyday.
He also was very supportive of City Singers and my managerial involvement with it. He was present at so
many City Singers performances through the years and would offer to help if anything was needed. He often
volunteered to be the “ladies’ handbag watcher”, as we ladies all dropped off our purses with him, wherever he
sat, before we began the concerts. I truly could not have continued all those years as City Singers manager
without his moral support and willingness to help me whenever needed and in whatever capacity.
In the last few months before his passing, he came with me to many rehearsals, just so we could spend time
together. I think some might have wondered if I could still drive myself. But on some of those evenings he
was sometimes very tired, so he would occasionally fall asleep on the
bench near the refreshment area. So when the choir came out for our
break I had to rush out ahead to make sure he would be awake and not
be embarrassed to be found sleeping there next to the food before the
singers got there. Both City Choir and I were so fortunate to have such a
loyal supporter as my husband Sam. Sam was my true Valentine."
†
Sam & S1 Lani
Kanakry
† in memoriam

"A highlight of our involvement as a couple with The City Choir of
Washington was in 2016 when we commissioned Bob to compose an choral
anthem to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Hope College,
Thelma’s alma mater and where Joe taught for 29 years. Thelma had the
original idea but hosting Bob at Hope College (during a major snowstorm, no
less) we did jointly. We introduced Bob to the Hope campus, faculty, and
students—and to the City of Holland—as he began his creative process. To
have an idea come to life in Bob’s inspiring composition Psalm 121: I Will Lift
Up Mine Eyes and to sing it with the City Choir as part of our June 2016
concert was memorable for both of us—Thelma as a singer and Joe as a very
appreciative and moved audience member. The final phrase of the Psalm and
the piece persists in our memories: 'He shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth and even for evermore.' This experience will be
with us for a lifetime."
S1 Thelma Leenhouts &
Joe MacDoniels

"Gus and I had just married, and in early September 1992 I moved to DC with my new
husband. A friend in the choral community called on Monday to say, 'Hey, the Oratorio
Society of Washington has rehearsal tonight, and I hear Bob Shafer’s holding auditions.'
How quickly could I vocalize in an afternoon to take advantage of my big chance? That
was the beginning. Gus and I became a choral team, Gus as a devoted groupie and,
eventually, administrative leader, and I as a devoted singer. Gus never missed a concert.
He would sit in the back row at outreach programs, and somehow he planned to meet us
on most tours. He sat on the Board of The Washington Chorus for ten years and was vice
president when he stepped down in June of 2006 to take a break. That summer the world
turned upside down for Bob. However, The City Choir of Washington was born. What
an exciting new chorus! Our fervent assembly of choristers has garnered high acclaim
from its inception because of the passionate, almost hundredfold band of singers who
followed Bob to create the organization. When Gus and I were invited to join the Board
of TCCW in 2012, we accepted with alacrity what seemed for us a natural next step.
Predictably, while I caught my breath after each
concert, Gus declared our performance one of the best
ever, with, again, one of the most gratifying
programs. Perhaps he was right. By now we’ve
established a reputation, in this city of choruses. We’re
known a the young, fresh new ensemble with 'a
sound like no other.'"
S1 Susan & Gus
Schumacher
† in memoriam
†

"Back in 2011, we, along with Debra Wynn and Allen Maberry, offered an
event for purchase at the auction. It was an afternoon of cocktails and hors
d’oeuvre to be followed by a buffet dinner at the home of our friend Sue
Bogner. (Sadly Sue died a couple years ago from a stroke.) This worked out so
well that we then offered the same event again for the 2012 and 2013 auctions.
The four of us did all the cooking and purchased the wine. Since we wanted a
large attendance, we made the auction price low and subsidized the rest of the
cost ourselves. These were really fun events."
Joel Cuffman &
T2 Leo Settler

"Two moments stand out for us as a 'choir couple.' The first was during the
2018 England tour; it was such a great experience to spend time with fellow
singers and their families, socializing without fear of the end-of-break cowbell!
And all the venues were so splendid, each in its own way. But the moment that
really stands out for us on tour was in the great cathedral at Ely. It is such a
grand space, achingly beautiful in its architectural flaws, and there was another
choir rehearsing when our City Choir contingent arrived. We both felt a sense
of awe that we were participating in this centuries-old English choir tradition.
The concert itself was one of those magical moments out of time, where we felt
like we were one entity with a single, multifaceted voice.
The second moment that we still chuckle about was right before the May 2019
Mozart Requiem. Ben came down with a terrible case of laryngitis which kicked
in during the 'Dies Irae' at the Saturday dress rehearsal. He could barely speak
above a whisper and had resigned himself to not
singing in the concert. But 5 minutes before we
needed to leave, Ben decided that a miracle
might happen and he started to struggle into his
tux. As she was looking for an errant cufflink,
Emily said, 'There’s no way you can sing—this
is no time for tenor drama.' To which Ben
croaked back, 'It’s always time for tenor drama!'"
S2 Emily & T1 Ben Tsai

"We had enjoyed singing with Bob for years and started singing with him after
returning from a three year tour in England in 1994. We had taken every
European tour during that time and really wanted to continue singing with Bob.
The Katrina hurricane was really responsible for our being able to help the choir
get started. That year one could give any amount from a 401K or IRA without
penalty and it also was the first year Marv was required to take out a good portion
of that amount because he turned 71.5. It just seemed like a worthy cause at the
time. It was done as a matching grant and the enthusiasm to make it work was so
strong that many choir members chipped in more than they really had to give to
more than reach the challenge. Marv was on the planning board and came home
one night and told me that he had volunteered for me to figure out how we could
sell tickets and subscriptions online so I suddenly had an almost full time job for a
good number of years. With a start of nearly 100 former choir members there was a
lot of enthusiasm to make it work.With that much of a core group, it was easy to
attract the many new members to join us in the last
13 years. The City Choir and the City Singers have
been an important part of my life for a long time.
Marv really felt supported by them during his last
two years when he had to come to our concerts in a
wheel chair and the City Singers came to sing or
people where we live."
A2 Elaine & B2 Marv
Wunderlich
† in memoriam
†