October 15, 2019 —By Frances Kolarek —
When I thought of writing a blog about music at Collington, I knew there was a lot of ground to cover, a lot, but I never dreamed there was SO much.
We make a lot of music ourselves. Some 35 residents belong to the Collington Singers, which rehearse every week and provides us with concerts several times a year. Five residents trek to Annapolis weekly to rehearse with the Annapolis Chorale, a 150-member group highly regarded in this area.
Three evenings a week, one of our residents, a retired professional, plays jazz in our Ivy Room, where pre-dinner drinks are served. He has recently been provided with a new piano, paid for by resident contributions. A drummer with a monumental drum set, another retired professional, accompanies him. On the fourth evening, yet another resident plays duets with a friend and invites the audience to sing along.
Music lay at the roots of Collington’s early days when groups of friends met at the home of a resident to play their recorders. Many subsequently came here to live. And it became a center of interest for a pair of musicians who owned and played viola de gambas.
There are frequent Sunday afternoon concerts for which our Residents Association budgets $9,500 annually. These funds derive from the income of our Thrift Shop, which, incidentally, underwrites many other activities. But that’s a whole other story.
These concerts are scheduled by a committee of residents who willingly take on the job of booking a wide variety of musicians including vocalists, flautists and harpists, as well as groups of instrumentalists. Next on their schedule is Emil Chudnovsky, violinist — you name it, we hear it.
The Friday Morning Music club brings us three concerts a year, gratis. The most recent included music for piano, flute and guitar by Chopin, Scriabin, Faure and Ravel.
A series of Candlelight Concerts brought an Afternoon of Chamberworks for Woodwind Quintet, which included works by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Debussy.
The son of a resident, a professional, entertains us frequently on the piano at no cost to us.
A class in music appreciation meets here, just one course of several offered by a seniors program sponsored by Prince George’s Community College
And, if that’s not enough, a Collington bus will take you to a Salute to Ellla Fitzgerald at the American Art Museum in downtown Washington.
Transportation is also provided to concerts of the Prince George’s Philharmonic Orchestra, which enjoys support from numerous Collington residents.
Except for the bus rides, all of the above—absolutely all—happen without the involvement of Collington management.