Windsor residents have fun, perform as choral group
May 21—SAVOY — Every Wednesday morning for nine months out of the year, music rings through the lobby at The Windsor of Savoy.
A choir of residents practices together for an hour each week, preparing concerts primarily for their fellow residents.
For the last 18 years, the Windsor Singers have gathered in some capacity for that very purpose.
They put on a concert for almost every holiday, but director Marilyn Jaeger said that Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are highlights for her.
At 10 a.m. Monday, the group will gather and perform in front of a full house in the Savoy Room.
As the choir performs songs associated with each branch of the military, veterans who live at Windsor stand to be recognized.
"They're very proud when they do it," added pianist Jean Nanney. "I think it's very impressive."
The group has a book of tunes they often repeat for holiday concerts, but they like to mix in new songs as members suggest them.
For example: this year's St. Patrick's Day concert included some Irish drinking songs that were a bit more rowdy than the usual fare.
That got most of the singers excited about adding some comedy to the show, something fun.
Jane Seiler, one of the Windsor Singers, said that while everyone in the group enjoys singing, of course, she thinks most of them join to have fun spending time with the others.
"We laugh and talk. It's good fellowship," Seiler said. "I talk to some people that I don't usually see other than that."
Seiler has been in the Windsor Singers for around five years now and is one of around 20 people at most rehearsals.
It can be a pretty significant time commitment; practice is only once a week, but the group is active most of the year, September through May.
For Jaeger and Nanney, that also means hours of planning and preparation each week.
Both have backgrounds in music, Jaeger with her church and other programs and Nanney as a music teacher.
"So she's the professional," Jaeger said.
That September-May season includes every major holiday outside of the 4th of July, as well as reception events for new residents.
Whenever the Windsor Singers put on a performance, staff open up activity rooms into one big "concert hall" to fit in all of the other residents who want to listen.
"It's wonderful for the residents, it really is, and people come to that that maybe you don't see a lot out of their rooms," Seiler said.
In recent years, the Windsor Singers have also had to make some room at practices for some special guests: students from the Montessori School of Champaign-Urbana.
The school and The Windsor of Savoy have a longstanding partnership due to being neighbors, and elementary program director Brekke Day said it just made sense to combine the Montessori method's preference for mixed-age groups with the need for an arts program.
"It kind of gives our students an opportunity to get to know those residents on a more personal level because they see them every week," Day said.
Besides, the kids love their visits and often ask to go over to Windsor.
"They want to come join us old people," Jaeger said. "It gets them out of school too of course, incidentally."
The only people who might enjoy this partnership more than the students are the Windsor residents, who all couldn't speak highly enough of having the young people join practices.
They're fun to have around and they change up the music, too.
"They bring a great noise," Jaeger said.
"It's a lovely treble sound," Nanney said. "You just can't beat that treble."
