Minutes of Sacred Harp Singings

Saturday, March 10

The 14th annual Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention was called to order by Christine Andrews leading 131b. The opening prayer was offered by Tim Eriksen.

Leaders: Molly Merrett 72b; Matthew Leger-Small 31t; Linda Shea and Magda Eriksen 371; Mike Nord 171; Sally Langendorf 535; Sheila Kelly 42; John Davis 480; Bill Holt 191; Laura Keeler 506; Faiz Wareh 49t; Liz Cantrell 456; John Bowman 178; Paula Picton 47t; Claire Moore-Cantrell and Elizabeth Rogal-Allbritten 313b; Nathan Berry 324; Andrew Magee 512; Bob Parr 297; Al McCready 306; Megan Jennings 436; Eli Hetko 86; Terry Ryan 193.

The following officers and committee members were elected or appointed to serve: Chairman—Christine Andrews; Vice Chairman—Molly Merrett; Secretary—Matthew Leger-Small; Resolutions Committee—Michael Nord, Anna Pfau, and Oliver Kindig-Stokes; Memorial Committee—Tim Eriksen and Eliza Cavanaugh; Finance Officer—John Holbrook.

RECESS

Laura Timmerman called the class back to order leading 82t. Leaders: Dana Borrelli-Murray 186; Amy Valladares 328; Mel Novner 212; Margaret Bornick 472; David Black 312b; Mary Andrews 344; J.R. Hardman 114; Mary Helen Dupree 30t; Guy Bankes 254; Joanne Lampert 388; Sam Kleinman 187; Elizabeth Stoddard 131t; Patricia Callahan 498; Caitlin Caulfield 128; Mark Godfrey 500; Gina Balestracci 419; Riely Skinner 481; James Baumgartner 319; Carol Huang 440; Larry Gordon 383; George Pomfret 183; Leonard Spencer 245.

RECESS

Jeremy Galvagni called the class back to order leading 100. Leaders: Eliza Cavanaugh 179; Corey Walters 192; Robert Stoddard 536; Kelly Taylor 111b; Annie-Lou Chesrer 47b; Melissa Kelly 566; Charles Cofone 569b; Amy Finlay 300; Leigh Cooper 142; Roland Hutchinson 553; Emily Hale-Sills 299; John Holbrook 163b; Maggie Shar 276; Paul Setford 273; Cory Noel 35; Larry Bingham 99; Laura Borelli 274t; Ames Bielenberg 445; Dean Jens 168; Jessica Keyes 270; Michael Kaye 146; Lucy O’Leary 377; Chris Johnson Robertson 69t; Gwen Gethner 108b; Ed Smith 362.

LUNCH

Kate Richardson called the class back to order leading 68b. Leaders: Kelsey Wessels 218; Kiri Miller 564; Justin Levi 562; Kevin Griffin Moreno 189; David Ivey 38b; Rachel Speer 77t; Maura Burns 198; Tim Eriksen 448t; Nora Dunn 379; Neely Bruce 298; Kelsey Sunderland and Richard Ivey 454; Sonia Chin 220; Will Gilman and Noelle Copeland 228; Paul Gauthier 505; Oliver Kindig-Stokes and Daniel Hunter 488; Ray Rechenberg 40; Bethany Towne, Kelly Kennedy, and Beck Wright 475; Karen Ivey 76b; Emily Hancock and Peter Golden 129; Tom Malone and Alvaro Witt Duarte 126; Henry Johnson 60; Kshama Ananthapura and Dan Hertzler 411; Kathy Collett and Brian Collett 474.

RECESS

Sinead O’Mahoney called the class back to order leading 72b. Leaders: Laura Clawson 385b; Hannah, Olivia, Chris Jeeuhneetee, and Allison Steel 410b; Dan Adams 89; Sarah Pilser 107; Nathan Bergmann-Dean 268; Alex Lough 417; Elka Schumann 53; Ron Trial 473; Pete Sutherland 347; Kitty Kagay 48t; Ronald Bornick 84; Ruth Hooh 155; Jesse Krikorian 157; Jeff Gauthier 250; Jacqueline Barnard 159; Andy Jonathan 294; Julia Seidenstein and April Birnie 49b; Troad 56b; Ines Lüttgen 396; Rowan Lupton 106; Leon Pulsinelle 70b; Anna Kazlauskas 447; Ben Sachs-Hamilton 71.

Christine Andrews and Gigi Teensma closed the first day of the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention by leading 176t. The closing prayer was offered by Tim Eriksen, and the class was dismissed.

Sunday, March 11

The Sunday session of the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention was called to order by Christine Andrews leading 31t. The morning prayer was offered by Laura Timmerman.

Leaders: Molly Merrett and Maggie Shar 81t; Matthew Leger-Small 378t; Anna Marie Irvine 460; Hayley Lewis 318; Tarik Waseh 335; Andy Jonathan 499; Cheri Hardy 377; Rhys McGovern 312b; Erik Dardan Ymeraga 298; Kate Richardson 365; Sonia Chin 89; Mary Helen Dupree 120; Sinead O’Mahoney 163b; Anne Kazlauskas 95; Rowan Lupton 455; Kathy Collett 504; Ed Smith 532.

RECESS

Amy Valladares called the class back to order leading 77t. Leaders: Kelly Taylor 217; Emily Hancock 76b; Bill Dunn 300; Brian Collett 198; Yael Tarshish, Anna Tarshish, and Suzan Greenberg 472; Al McCready 282; Effie Cummings 344; Sasha Hsuczyk and Stuart Jackson 503; Ben Sachs-Hamilton 209; Myles Louis Dakan 545; Mark Godfrey 542; Patrick DeDauw 285t; Paul Butler and the Finance committee 319; Joanne Fuller 439; Robert Stoddard 507; Susan William 148; Larry Gordon 196; Corinne Ducey 410t; Leon Pulsinelle 380; Jenny Wright 203; Lucy O’Leary 340; the children’s lesson 376.

RECESS

Magda Eriksen called the class back to order leading 274t. Leaders: Laura Timmerman and Sheila Kelly 566; Brendan Taaffe 43; Emma Rose Brown 426b; Leigh Cooper 384; Michael Kaye 408; Alvaro Witt Duarte 543; Nora Dunn 375; Nathan Bergmann-Dean 67; Paula Picton and Mary Stockland 277.

The memorial lesson was conducted by Tim Eriksen and Eliza Cavanaugh. Tim reflected on the inability and insufficiency of words to adequately express the sentiments of those who have lost someone dear to them. He noted the genius of the hollow square that allows us to turn our backs on the world and face each other to share our hope and love. He led 47b in honor of the following deceased: Peter Hine, Martin Powers, Marjorie Kagay, Sam ‘Salami’ Cohen, Pearl Kaye, Al Socolov, and Judy Socolov—New York; Joanne Bowman, Roger Cartwright, Teri Morrise, Gil Dupre, Joseph Supernan, Alfred Phillip Bedard, Robert Arthur Cummings, Sr., Raymond Frates, Sally Venman, Ed Chang, Anne Eliot Crompton, Mary Duffy Andrews, Jack O’Riley, Sandy Spencer, Abby Burg, Thomas Babbin, and Katherine Keator—Massachusetts; Antoine Capitani—France; John Patrick Hayes—Washington; Louise Marsh, Kate Reditier, Zack Frates, and Donald Fletcher—Vermont; Carol Henry—North Carolina; Carol Grosberg—California; Helen Nestler—New Jersey; Frank Evans—Virginia; Sam K.—a traveler; Lonnie Rogers—Georgia; Marie Ivey and Travis Keeton—Alabama; Christine Cox—Ohio; Josephine Capaldi—Rhode Island; John Merritt—Mississippi; Tom Maher and James Wyllie—Pennsylvania; Nick Moore—Minnesota; Elma Carr—Canada; Olga Hancock—Maryland; Ed Siemans—Illinois.

Eliza Cavanaugh reflected on the concept of health as the harmonious wholeness of the body and the corresponding wholeness of the hollow square. She noted that we as Sacred Harp singers are privileged to know and enact wholeness in the hollow square and to experience the comfort and hope lent by singing for our ailing members. She led 34t in honor of the following sick and shut-ins: Aruilla Boswell, Jo Goldberg, Karen Patton, Tom Kunz, Rahima Wade, Liam Foster, Dottie Phillips, Danya Klie, Poppy Gregory, Sylvia Kriebel, Annie Dawson, Mauk Hudia, Dennis Cinelli, Jean Ayotte, Colin Lissandrello, Joseph Ost, Fri Zervakis, Evlin Delabar, Julie Holbrook, Sarah Ruth Hewitt, Bill Fortin, Patty Fortin, Olga Haas, Lysiane Pfaff, and Ruth Ann Bryant. Tim Eriksen closed the memorial lesson with a prayer.

Leaders: Linda Shea 229; Henry Johnson 138b; Caitlyn Caulfield 159; Dan Hertzler 430. The blessing for the noon day meal was offered by Tim Eriksen.

LUNCH

Michael Nord called the class back to order leading 144. Leaders: Kshama Ananthapura 546; Jennifer Hedrich and Noelle Copeland 290; Richard Ivey, David Ivey, Karen Ivey, and Kelsey Sunderland 182; Becky Wright 548; Allison Steel, Jan Erik Steel, and Callum Steel 567; Jessica Keyes and Kevin Griffin Moreno 215; Peter Irvine 112; Melissa Kelley 216; Emily Hale-Sills and Mel Novner 434; Oliver Kindig-Stokes 428; Nathan Berry 320; Dean Jens and Rachel Speer 163t; Sheldon Finlay 441; Anna Pfau 528; Daniel Hunter and Kelly Kennedy 349; Julia Seidenstein 179; Maura Buros 442; Ray Rechenberg 29t; Paul Setford and Matthew Wojcik 501; Will Gilman 399b; Gina Balestracci and Roland Hutchins 147t; Tim Eriksen and Eliza Cavanaugh 236; the visitors from Minnesota 269; Terry Ryan 486; the visitors from Alabama 201.

RECESS

Amy Finlay called the class back to order leading 106. Leaders: Kelsey Wessels and Mary Andrews 168; Patricia Callahan 330b; John Holbrook 38t; Margaret Bornick and Ronald Bornick 178; Eli Hetko 48b; the visitors from Canada 32t; Leonard Spencer 260; Matthew Wojcik and Rosie Wojcik 436; Jaqueline Barnard 87; Guy Bankes 444; Sam Kleinman 52t; Elizabeth Stoddard 36b; Kamilah Tisdale 183; Jeff Gauthier 149; Andrew Magee 56b; Rhys McGovern 39t.

A business meeting was held to hear reports from the various committees. John Holbrook submitted the Finance Committee report declaring that all expenses were met. Matthew Leger-Small submitted the Secretary’s report announcing that 221 songs had been led by 166 leaders. There were 413 singers registered from 20 states and 2 foreign countries. Michael Nord, Anna Pfau, and Oliver Kindig-Stokes delivered the Resolutions Committee report thanking Almighty God for the weekend of singing, the Northampton Center for the arts, the officers, committees, and everyone else who made the convention possible. The committee resolved to reconvene for the 15th annual session in March, 2013. The business meeting was concluded.

Christine Andrews, Molly Merrett, and Matthew Leger-Small lead 62 as the closing song. Tim Eriksen offered the closing prayer, and the class was dismissed.

Chairman—Christine Andrews; Vice Chairman—Molly Merrett; Secretary—Matthew Leger-Small