Most of the songs that the group sings
were composed for singing at bedside.
According to Harris, there are a few common
hymns and familiar songs in the repertoire,
but they generally won’t sing them unless a
patient specifically requests them. “Songs
have powerful associations,” Cindy says, “…
positive or negative. That makes familiar
songs a potential minefield – we never know
whether or not a particular person might
have had a negative experience associated
with a song.” So, the group sings songs that
the patient isn’t likely to know, with many of
them having “projectable texts.” “These texts,”
explains Cindy, “are ideas and statements that
can be interpreted in a wide variety of ways
and are stimulating or soothing no matter
what a patient’s faith tradition might be.”
Harris comments that singing together at
bedsides requires a lot of trust and mutual
support. “One thing we learn,” she remarks,
“…is to trust that…it’s impossible to fall when
you’re singing with one or two others. We
breathe together, we share [one another’s]
voices, and we jointly pay a lot of attention
to the person to whom we are singing.” That
makes the group feel very strong, she says,
“…and even when the patient or the family
members break down, we can keep singing.
In a way, what we’re doing as we sing fuels the
emotion in the room, but [it’s positive]. So
we feel it, we take it in, but then we let it float
out on the breath along with the song, so it
doesn’t get stuck inside where it might cause
us to break down. It’s really very beautiful
and peaceful to sing this way, even when the
emotional level in the room is high.”
Most of the people that the Pittsburgh
Threshold Choir sings to are being cared for
by hospices that the group is already working
with. In addition to Family Hospice, the
choir works with Heartland Hospice, Forbes
Hospice, Grane Hospice, Sivitz Hospice and
Three Rivers Hospice. If anyone has a loved
one in any of these hospices, all that they
have to do is mention to the caregiver that
they’d like to have the Pittsburgh Threshold
Choir visit and arrangements will be made.
Also, since most of the singers are located in
Pittsburgh, they can generally meet requests
within the city within 24 hours. The choir is
working to build and strengthen the group
so that they are eventually able to quickly
meet private requests in the South Hills and
in Mt. Lebanon. Additionally, a men’s group,
the Pittsburgh Men’s Threshold Singers, has
recently been formed. They have started to
rehearse and hope to begin singing at bedsides
within the next few months. ■
For more information about the choir, or to make
singing requests, please visit: ptc.groupanizer.com
or call 412.447.1812.
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