On Monday, June 19, Kendal residents gathered in informal seating circles in the Amelia Room to mark the twelfth anniversary of the founding of our community. Fortified by music, tales, libations, and hors d'oeuvres, we had a grand experience. One thing is for sure: Kendal knows how to throw a party.
The celebration began with Will Solivan, the Director of Resident Services, greeting everyone, and his welcoming words were followed by a cheerful video from our Executive Director Doug Helman. As Doug explained, he regretted not being in attendance, but a long-planned Fathers Day fishing trip to New York State with his son and dad was taking precedence. I'm pretty sure that not a single resident thought Doug's priorities misplaced, even though he was missing a good time.
We all then sang "Mound and Tower," Kendal at Granville's own anthem, with its timely assurance that while our pasts are to be treasured, our futures lie before us, still to be shaped by our own initiatives to create new treasures.
Following that reminder of Kendal's ambition to link past and future, we sat back to hear some of the pioneers – those who launched the project back in 2005 – regale us with heart-warming memories of how, amidst the mud and occasionally dysfunctional elevators of the opening days, the settlers and the wonderful staff began creating a caring community and founded the tradition of mutual support.
The highlight of the party came next, when various members of the theatrical troupe that will begin performing the still timely South Pacific in nearby Newark next week, strolled among us to share some songs from that wonderful Rodgers and Hammerstein score. Soloists caught the grand romance of the musical with renditions of "Wonderful Guy," "Some Enchanted Evening," and "Younger than Springtime"; and a men's chorus reminded us of its humor by belting out "There is Nothing Like a Dame."
After this informal concert, we all shared pieces of some celebratory cake and wound up the evening by chatting among ourselves about the happiness of the occasion. Walking back to my apartment afterwards, I found myself feeling deeply contented. Twelve years and going strong! – Kendal at Granville is a great place to live.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Kendal's Piano Lady
When dinnertime arrives at Kendal and residents and guests begin arriving in small groups for their evening meals, music from the grand piano in the lobby may be floating through the air. When their dinners are over and they begin to drift out from the dining rooms toward their residences, piano music may be accompanying their departures. Frequently the happy diners pause in the lobby – perhaps standing quietly, perhaps seated in couches and chairs, sometimes approaching the piano and even singing along with the tunes. This happy Kendal custom owes its existence to one gifted and generous resident, Teddy Westlake, Kendal's Piano Lady.
Teddy is a longtime resident of Granville. In 2005 she and her husband Jim, a World War II veteran, were among the founding residents of Kendal at Granville. For many years Teddy taught piano to generations of children, and she later became founder and director of Vintage Voices, Granville's community choir for seniors. After moving to Kendal and seeing the need for creating a singing opportunity for Kendal residents, she founded the Kendaliers, a small group that performs several times a year for the residents. She is a woman for whom music is the breath of life, and she understands that music is a gift to be shared.
Her dinnertime concerts are never bombastic and feature a variety of music. Sometimes she performs light piano classics. But she is likelier to be heard playing show tunes, or popular songs, or religious melodies. The pieces are usually the old songs – music associated with the early twentieth century, with the two world wars, with the 1930s and 1950s. They are the tunes that Kendal residents have known for decades, often from their childhoods. With their focus on the simple themes of love and separation, joy and grief, children and memories, faith and redemption, they constitute the collective background score that has accompanied the lives of most of Kendal's residents.
Teddy seeks no praise for her contribution to life at Kendal. She knows she gives enjoyment, but pretty clearly she is playing, almost dreamily, for her own satisfaction too. I have no idea whether she will even see this blog entry. But it is meant as my tribute to the Kendal's Piano Lady and my note of appreciation to her for acting on her lifetime project of sharing her love of music.
Teddy is a longtime resident of Granville. In 2005 she and her husband Jim, a World War II veteran, were among the founding residents of Kendal at Granville. For many years Teddy taught piano to generations of children, and she later became founder and director of Vintage Voices, Granville's community choir for seniors. After moving to Kendal and seeing the need for creating a singing opportunity for Kendal residents, she founded the Kendaliers, a small group that performs several times a year for the residents. She is a woman for whom music is the breath of life, and she understands that music is a gift to be shared.
Her dinnertime concerts are never bombastic and feature a variety of music. Sometimes she performs light piano classics. But she is likelier to be heard playing show tunes, or popular songs, or religious melodies. The pieces are usually the old songs – music associated with the early twentieth century, with the two world wars, with the 1930s and 1950s. They are the tunes that Kendal residents have known for decades, often from their childhoods. With their focus on the simple themes of love and separation, joy and grief, children and memories, faith and redemption, they constitute the collective background score that has accompanied the lives of most of Kendal's residents.
Teddy seeks no praise for her contribution to life at Kendal. She knows she gives enjoyment, but pretty clearly she is playing, almost dreamily, for her own satisfaction too. I have no idea whether she will even see this blog entry. But it is meant as my tribute to the Kendal's Piano Lady and my note of appreciation to her for acting on her lifetime project of sharing her love of music.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Music in the Air
Newark High School's outstanding Concert Choir visits Kendal at Granville at least once a year. The community has learned to embrace these concerts, for under the able direction of Kim Wigglesworth the Concert Choir has toured in both this country and beyond, and has won recognition as one of central Ohio's finest high school choral ensembles.
On Monday evening, January 23, they appeared in a just-about-packed Amelia Room to delight the residents with a concert of music familiar and unfamiliar. The singers strode onto the risers while singing a South African march that celebrated Freedom. And Freedom – along with Love, Faith, and (yes) Water – was one of the recurring themes of the lyrics of the evening of music. The Choir completed its concert with an exuberant rendition of "Praise His Holy Name." In between the march and the song of celebration they delighted the audience with a variety of pieces drawn from the early Baroque period to the age of Michael Jackson. Spirituals, twentieth-century music, and pop renderings spiced up the program. And always there was the visible enthusiasm of the performers, as the high schoolers made very clear that they were having loads of fun.
A smaller group of fourteen, the Swing Choir, clad in tuxedos (the boys) and spangles (the girls), sang and danced their way through a medley of numbers made famous by Frankie Valle, Billy Joel, and the Village Boys. They brought the house down with their lively presentation of the "Y.M.C.A.," a piece which has acquired iconic status in the minds of many in the generation of the '90s.
There was one solo, a rich and memorable rendering of "Come Ready and See Me" sung by Casey Armstrong, a splendid young soprano with a lovely and controlled voice.
When not performing a cappella, the singers were accompanied and directed by Ms. Wigglesworth from the piano – she was a last-minute sub for the regular accompanist, we learned after he concert! – with assistance on a variety of rhythm instruments being provided by her husband Mike Wigglesworth.
Part-way through the concert Ms. Wigglesworth paused to say a few words about this Concert Choir she is clearly very proud of. When she asked the singers to raise their hands if they held 20-hours-a-week-or-more jobs in addition to dealing with their academic responsibilities, almost every hand went up. This demonstration of dedication and determination elicited an audible and appreciative gasp from some in the audience.
When the concert was over, there was a short opportunity for residents and choristers to mingle before the singers returned to their homes. We all had a good time. I suspect that many Kendal residents are already happily anticipating their next musical visit.
On Monday evening, January 23, they appeared in a just-about-packed Amelia Room to delight the residents with a concert of music familiar and unfamiliar. The singers strode onto the risers while singing a South African march that celebrated Freedom. And Freedom – along with Love, Faith, and (yes) Water – was one of the recurring themes of the lyrics of the evening of music. The Choir completed its concert with an exuberant rendition of "Praise His Holy Name." In between the march and the song of celebration they delighted the audience with a variety of pieces drawn from the early Baroque period to the age of Michael Jackson. Spirituals, twentieth-century music, and pop renderings spiced up the program. And always there was the visible enthusiasm of the performers, as the high schoolers made very clear that they were having loads of fun.
A smaller group of fourteen, the Swing Choir, clad in tuxedos (the boys) and spangles (the girls), sang and danced their way through a medley of numbers made famous by Frankie Valle, Billy Joel, and the Village Boys. They brought the house down with their lively presentation of the "Y.M.C.A.," a piece which has acquired iconic status in the minds of many in the generation of the '90s.
There was one solo, a rich and memorable rendering of "Come Ready and See Me" sung by Casey Armstrong, a splendid young soprano with a lovely and controlled voice.
When not performing a cappella, the singers were accompanied and directed by Ms. Wigglesworth from the piano – she was a last-minute sub for the regular accompanist, we learned after he concert! – with assistance on a variety of rhythm instruments being provided by her husband Mike Wigglesworth.
Part-way through the concert Ms. Wigglesworth paused to say a few words about this Concert Choir she is clearly very proud of. When she asked the singers to raise their hands if they held 20-hours-a-week-or-more jobs in addition to dealing with their academic responsibilities, almost every hand went up. This demonstration of dedication and determination elicited an audible and appreciative gasp from some in the audience.
When the concert was over, there was a short opportunity for residents and choristers to mingle before the singers returned to their homes. We all had a good time. I suspect that many Kendal residents are already happily anticipating their next musical visit.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
The Holidays at Kendal at Granville
The holidays are over, and yesterday (Wednesday), as if to observe the return of the regular rhythms of life, the residents of Kendal at Granville took down the large and lovely Christmas tree that had been standing in the lobby. With that action, performed annually, Kendal brought to its semi-formal end a holiday season that, begun back in mid-December,had been packed with sparkling lights, dancing decorations, savory foods, and memorable music.
As usual, the lights were the most eye-catching aspect of the holidays. Anyone driving onto the campus from dusk on noticed the Christmas lights shining through many of the the residents’ windows. Residents who gazed out upon the campus at night saw many of our lovely trees twinkling with reds and greens and blues and whites. Residents and guests who walked the campus admired the exuberant displays of holiday imagery and greenery that stood by apartment doorways and adorned the porches of cottages and villas.
It is important to note that Christmas is not the only seasonal holiday that Kendal celebrates. Each evening during Hanukkah residents gathered in the lobby to light the menorah candles and to hear readings from scripture. On a nearby lobby table sat a Kwanzaa candelabra, with its seven candles reminding observers of Kwanzaa’s seven principles.
At various times during the holidays musical performance groups took the stage in the Amelia Room to bring the enchantment of music to the residents. From “Switchback: An American Christmas” to the Vintage Voices, from Doug Moran’s Trombones to our very own chorus, the Kendaliers, happy tones rang out across many evenings during the holidays.
And our food, as usual, was wonderful. To the delight of residents and their guests alike, the imaginative Chef Robert prepared an exciting set of dining options for Christmas Day and New Years Eve. The Christmas dinner menu offered salmon lox (my choice), prime rib, grilled lamb chops, and eggs benedict for entrees; a variety of vegetables and fruits; and dessert choices that included coffee cake and a totally scrumptious bourbon maple bread pudding. The New Years Eve menu rivaled the Christmas choices with offerings of tender filets (my choice), seared scallop pasta, and oysters Rockefeller. One of the startlingly successful innovations of Chef Robert is his management of vegetables, and the holidays allowed him to offer such treats as sauteed green beans with madeira wine, and roasted winter squash with vanilla butter.
On the subject of New Years Eve, I should note that Kendal residents know how to celebrate this event too. It’s true that this year the Fiesta Bowl game between Ohio State and Clemson – a match about which nothing more will be said – competed with the annual party, but the opportunity for a cold buffet, warm conversation, and music by our favorite New Years Eve entertainers, Doc and the Perfessor, proved irresistible to many residents and their guests. In recognition that we aren’t as young as we once were – spry perhaps but not really agile – the party ended before midnight in New York. But as the saying goes, on New Years Eve it’s always midnight somewhere, and so residents were not without company elsewhere on the globe when heralding in the arrival of 2017.
There’s a final symbolic note that needs stressing – an act of continuity and hope and welcoming. For even as the old year goes out, the new one comes in, and this it was timely that at the very end of December the resident-directed Art Gallery opened a new exhibit, featuring splendid art works that come from around the country and the world and that are owned by residents and loaned for the occasion. Art is an expression of the new, of creativity, of liveliness of spirit. There could have been no finer way to attend the end of one year and the beginning of a new one than to celebrate the human spirit itself.
As usual, the lights were the most eye-catching aspect of the holidays. Anyone driving onto the campus from dusk on noticed the Christmas lights shining through many of the the residents’ windows. Residents who gazed out upon the campus at night saw many of our lovely trees twinkling with reds and greens and blues and whites. Residents and guests who walked the campus admired the exuberant displays of holiday imagery and greenery that stood by apartment doorways and adorned the porches of cottages and villas.
It is important to note that Christmas is not the only seasonal holiday that Kendal celebrates. Each evening during Hanukkah residents gathered in the lobby to light the menorah candles and to hear readings from scripture. On a nearby lobby table sat a Kwanzaa candelabra, with its seven candles reminding observers of Kwanzaa’s seven principles.
At various times during the holidays musical performance groups took the stage in the Amelia Room to bring the enchantment of music to the residents. From “Switchback: An American Christmas” to the Vintage Voices, from Doug Moran’s Trombones to our very own chorus, the Kendaliers, happy tones rang out across many evenings during the holidays.
And our food, as usual, was wonderful. To the delight of residents and their guests alike, the imaginative Chef Robert prepared an exciting set of dining options for Christmas Day and New Years Eve. The Christmas dinner menu offered salmon lox (my choice), prime rib, grilled lamb chops, and eggs benedict for entrees; a variety of vegetables and fruits; and dessert choices that included coffee cake and a totally scrumptious bourbon maple bread pudding. The New Years Eve menu rivaled the Christmas choices with offerings of tender filets (my choice), seared scallop pasta, and oysters Rockefeller. One of the startlingly successful innovations of Chef Robert is his management of vegetables, and the holidays allowed him to offer such treats as sauteed green beans with madeira wine, and roasted winter squash with vanilla butter.
On the subject of New Years Eve, I should note that Kendal residents know how to celebrate this event too. It’s true that this year the Fiesta Bowl game between Ohio State and Clemson – a match about which nothing more will be said – competed with the annual party, but the opportunity for a cold buffet, warm conversation, and music by our favorite New Years Eve entertainers, Doc and the Perfessor, proved irresistible to many residents and their guests. In recognition that we aren’t as young as we once were – spry perhaps but not really agile – the party ended before midnight in New York. But as the saying goes, on New Years Eve it’s always midnight somewhere, and so residents were not without company elsewhere on the globe when heralding in the arrival of 2017.
There’s a final symbolic note that needs stressing – an act of continuity and hope and welcoming. For even as the old year goes out, the new one comes in, and this it was timely that at the very end of December the resident-directed Art Gallery opened a new exhibit, featuring splendid art works that come from around the country and the world and that are owned by residents and loaned for the occasion. Art is an expression of the new, of creativity, of liveliness of spirit. There could have been no finer way to attend the end of one year and the beginning of a new one than to celebrate the human spirit itself.
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