Op Ed: Shop local, listen local
By Laura Rossi-Ortiz
January 4, 2008
Small, locally owned businesses in Chappaqua need all the support they can get to survive in this age of malls and big box stores. Many residents shop locally for the great variety of unique wares, but also because they know that supporting local businesses benefits everyone by building a vibrant downtown and enhancing the quality of life in the community. Local businesses give back, too, by offering shopping experiences that are a pleasure, not a chore.
International music fills the air on the streets of Chappaqua
Desires by Mikolay provided an unexpected pleasure to shoppers in Chappaqua on Saturday, Dec. 22, when they sponsored a sidewalk performance of “Carols from the Country” in front of their showroom on 55 King Street. Five members of Sing We Enchanted, a Westchester-based professional a capella ensemble, sung carols from England, Germany, France, Spain, Ukraine, Czech Republic and America. Their voices filled downtown Chappaqua with the rich harmonies of Renaissance music. It was a unique and memorable experience - pedestrians paused, traffic slowed, car windows rolled down - to enjoy this rare opportunity to “listen local.”
Chappaqua can claim Sing We Enchanted as one of its own. Its founder and artistic director is Nell Macdonald, a native of the village who credits her early training with Ronald Dunn, chorus teacher at Horace Greeley High School, with sparking her love of music. Back then, when Nell was known as Ellen Detko, she participated in the Concert Choir and Madrigal Choir, as well as chorus. She remembers Ronald Dunn as “one of the best choral conductors and music educators I have known.” The inspiration led Nell to found the non-profit Sing We Enchanted in 1994 “for the love of madrigals and Renaissance music.” A co-founder, Robert Greisman, is also a Horace Greeley grad.
Repertoire extends from Renaissance to modern music
Sing We Enchanted’s repertoire now extends from the Renaissance to modern times. The ten-member ensemble of professional musicians performs at concert series, arts festivals, coffee houses, libraries, private homes and benefit concerts. Locally, the group has also sung at Le Jardin de Roi. Sing We Enchanted’s concert programs are made possible, in part, by the Arts Alive program of the Westchester Arts Council, with funding from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts and J.P. Morgan Chase.
For those who missed Sing We Enchanted’s performance on Dec. 22, you can hear “Carols from the Country” this Sunday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m. at the Bedford Presbyterian Church located on the Village Green in Bedford.
If you can’t make it this Sunday, stop by Greeley Home and Hardware and purchase one of their CDs. Then head on over to Desires by Mikolay and thank Scott Mikolay for supporting local music. For information about future performances, check their web site, http://www.singweenchanted.org
Laura Rossi-Ortiz is a native of Westchester County. She shops local and listens local as often as she can.
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