Community Music Sing

MARGARETVILLE — The Community Music Network is seeking adults, seniors, and teens who love to sing for a series of Community Sing events. This is a non-auditioned, fully inclusive group that will gather for the sole purpose of experiencing the therapeutic, socially unifying, and spiritually uplifting benefits of singing together as a community. Amateur shower singers to professionals who want to have a casual, fun group to sing with are welcome as strong singers will be paired with those who need support. A love for singing is the only requirement!

The non performing community singing group will explore rounds, improvisational and acapella singing, folk music traditions, and sing-a-long songs of various genres. It will be led by Community Music Network director and teaching artist, Pamela West-Finkle, who has nearly four decades of experience leading choirs, vocal coaching, and singing professionally. 

This event will take place monthly at various venues throughout the Catskills, and a love offering/non profit donation of $10 per person is suggested, but not required as participation is open to everyone regardless of ability to contribute. Light refreshments will be provided, but it is recommended that you bring your own water for vocal hydration. Events will be cancelled due to bad weather. 

The first two events will be held at the Open Eye Theater, located at 960 Main Street, Margaretville, New York on Saturday February 1, 2025 and Saturday March 1, 2025 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Will and can be reserved at https://www.theopeneyetheater.org.

For more information, please call 607-441-8448 or email communitymusicnet@gmail.com. To contact the Open Eye Theater directly, call 845-586-1660 or email info@theopeneyetheater.org

Singing for the Sake of Singing!  Community Sing Events for Adults and Teens

Calling all shower singers!  Car crooners! Karaoke bar regulars! Armchair Broadway stars! 

The Community Music Network is seeking adults, seniors, and teens who love to sing for a series of Community Sing events. This is a non-auditioned, fully inclusive group that will gather for the sole purpose of experiencing the therapeutic, socially unifying, and spiritually uplifting benefits of singing together as a community. Amateur shower singers to professionals who want to have a casual, fun group to sing with are welcome as strong singers will be paired with those who need support. A love for singing is the only requirement!

The non performing community singing group will explore rounds, improvisational and acapella singing, folk music traditions, and sing-a-long songs of various genres. It will be led by Community Music Network director and teaching artist, Pamela West-Finkle, who has nearly four decades of experience leading choirs, vocal coaching, and singing professionally. 

This event will take place monthly at various venues throughout the Catskills, and a love offering/non profit donation of $10 per person is suggested, but not required as participation is open to everyone regardless of ability to contribute. Light refreshments will be provided, but it is recommended that you bring your own water for vocal hydration. Events will be cancelled due to bad weather. 

The first two events will be held at the Open Eye Theater, located at 960 Main Street, Margaretville, New York on Saturday February 1, 2025 and Saturday March 1, 2025 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Will for these events and can be reserved at https://www.theopeneyetheater.org. The April and May Community Sings will be held at the Hobart Activity Center and over the summer, they will move to the Pleasant Valley Meeting House in Andes.

Thanks to grant funding from the Robinson Broadhurst Foundation, the O’Connor Foundation, The Community Foundation of SCNY, the Stewarts Giving Fund, and the Joyce and David Barber Giving Fund, the Community Music Network has been providing educational and therapeutic music programs for the young and the old in our community since receiving non profit status in 2020. One of the Community Music Network’s programs has been to develop a catalog of sing-a-long collections that have been utilized in both The Robinson Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Home and the Pavilion Senior Living, to much success. 

The idea for the community sing events started with several people approaching Community Music Director, Pam West-Finkle, about sing-a-longs for adults who were not in nursing homes, but for people who just love to sing and want to sing with a group without the pressure of performance.  

She began discussion with the Andes Historical Society in May 2024, and was approached by the Open Eye Theater to provide winter programming for the community, so the events will be held monthly to determine level of interest.  In addition, donations provided at the events will help provide community matches for grant funding, sustaining this type of therapeutic arts programming in the Catskills

For more information, please call 607-441-8448 or email communitymusicnet@gmail.com.