The Silvertones is a choir group at Moorestown’s Brandywine Senior Living facility comprised of residential seniors who participate in a number of fun singing activities. To show off the tunes they have been practicing, a concert will be held on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m.
Designed to keep the seniors involved, social and to feel like they’re a part of a group, the Silvertones meet every Wednesday at 3 p.m. to practice. They have already begun to practice for this particular performance.
“I love to sing but I can’t really do it anymore, but here I can still try,” Peg Heenan, a 94-year-old resident, said. “The best part of my life right now is the Silvertones.”
“I love when we come in and have our lessons to practice for the concert. It’s great,” Marie Nitti, a 78-year-old resident, added.
Due to the date on which the performance lands, they will be performing songs based around the theme of keeping connected while remembering 9/11 and recognizing the other happenings the day of the event. There will be 12 songs performed, some of the more famous of which include the “Beautiful,” “Together,” “Sweet Carolina,” “Imagine,” “Try to Remember,” “God Bless the U.S.A.” and “Auld Lang Syne.”
“Although remembering 9/11 is a part of this concert, it’s not what it’s all about,” said Sharyn Blatstein, lead escapades expert and mentor and Silvertones director. “While it happens to land on 9/11, this concert is also for National Assisted Living Week, Grandparents Week and to help give back to the residents.”
The Silvertones will also be using this event to remember the members who enjoyed being in the group and are now a part of “a choir in the sky.” These members include Helen Stecher, Kathleen and Bill Carley, Herman Mathias, Eleanor Hemphill, Frank Delia and Florence Donnelly.
The group, which is comprised of 11 members, also wishes to thank their veterans, William Carston, Wallace Easterly and Richard Stecher and Victor Caronia, who will be helping to make this concert special. Stecher, a member of the Silvertones himself, will be reciting the first portion of the song “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood, and the remaining veterans will participate in a dramatic finish to the song’s performance.
“As a young lady, I was a part of the choir at Saint Laurentius Parish, a Roman Catholic parish in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia,” Frances Staniszewski said. “The Silvertones helps bring back memories.”
Those wishing to attend this performance should RSVP to the Brandywine Living at Moorestown Estates at (856) 778–0600 by Tuesday, Sept. 6. Refreshments will be served at the end of the concert as always.
The Silvertones will be hosting their next performance, a holiday concert, in December. The group also hosts a spring concert each year in April or May.
