The joy of singing in community

Happy Monday, DMV! It’s June 1.

I spent the weekend in community with music and song.

It began with Capitol Hill Chorale’s rehearsal Friday night ahead of their “Lamentations into Joy” concerts over the weekend. A reader — Radharani De, 38, of Arlington — invited me.

The group’s members told me of the close bonds they’ve formed and how for some, it has supported them through job loss and upheaval over the past year.

On Friday, as Capitol Hill Chorale’s artistic director Frederick Binkholder played chords on the piano and led them through warm-ups, I couldn’t help but sing with them — quietly, to myself. It brought me back to my childhood in chorus class in rural Illinois. I recalled the bliss of sending forth my voice to join others in creating music. (Click here to watch a recording of the Capitol Hill Chorale’s performance yesterday.)

Radharani said she joined the Capitol Hill Chorale “because singing with others had previously brought me so much joy, and I finally felt I was at a point in my career where I needed to pursue hobbies instead of hustling nonstop ….

“This truly has become a community and family for me. Outside of making beautiful music together, we spend a lot of time socializing, and every single person has something special that they bring to the community.”

I left Capitol Hill Chorale’s rehearsal so inspired to sing in community that the next day I made sure to head to the Petworth Porchfest edition of the D.C. Sing-Along. Different genre, but it scratched my itch.

Josh Korr had created the D.C. Sing-Along to give others the “magic of group singing” that he grew up with. On Saturday, he played guitar and led dozens of us through a medley. His wife, Melanie Starkey, passed out packets of lyrics and kazoos. Then … oh, how we belted it out.

Single Ladies by Beyonce.

Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.

Take on Me by A-Ha.

Three Little Birds and Is This Love by Bob Marley.

Killing Me Softly with His Song by Roberta Flack.

Viva La Vida by Coldplay.

Lean on Me by Bill Withers.

And so much more.

To the Capitol Hill Chorale and everyone at the D.C. Sing-Along: Thank you for giving me a dose of communal, musical joy.

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Holly Richards, 40, of the Petworth neighborhood of D.C., sent in this photo she took last month of a mural in her yard.

“When we moved into our house at the end of 2020, we were thrilled about our big side yard … the house came with a beautiful, fruit-bearing fig tree in the back. But next to it was this untended space with three rotting ewe trees and an overgrowth of mint (which, if you haven’t dealt with it, means roots, roots, roots). There was also this big gray slab of retaining wall, cracked and ugly,” Holly, whom I met in yoga teacher training, wrote to me in an email.

She fixed up the garden with native plants and a rain garden, hired a mason to fix the wall and commissioned artists to create a mural on the wall.

“The result was beyond what we’d imagined and not only represented our yard, but Rock Creek and the greater community we lived in. We now have a space that whether spring or winter, neighbors can walk by and enjoy,” she said.

Here’s another view of Holly’s yard on Saturday, during Petworth Porchfest.

“It was our first time [hosting for Petworth Porchfest] and we would love to do it again. In fact, we’ve already invited the bands back and hope to have another concert this summer,” she said. “The bands were incredible!”

Share your recent photos of life in the DMV here.

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