Intergenerational Band & Chorus finishes 25th season

For many years, the Dryden Area Intergenerational Band & Chorus has been performing across the community and has provided an opportunity for easy-going musical activities for its participants. Summer 2020 was the group’s 25th season, but much of the celebration of the group’s history had to be postponed because of COVID-19.

The group, which has a collective membership of just over 100 people between the band and the chorus, includes members from all across Tompkins and Cortland counties, with ages from 10 to almost 90. The band and chorus are both noncompetitive, open to any skill level without an audition and free to participate in.

This model of inclusivity has been with the group since its foundation, as Corey Ryan Earle — a member of the band since its start — can attest. Earle is the secretary of the group’s Board of Directors, and his mother founded the Dryden Area Intergenerational Band & Chorus.

“I got involved with [the band] when I was in fourth grade,” Earle said. “It’s been a really fun thing to look forward to every summer, and I’ve met a lot of great people through it. And it’s just a nice sort of low-stress, low-commitment activity for music making and connecting across generations each year.”

The inspiration for the group’s creation was the town of Dryden’s bicentennial, Earle explained. But it was such a success that it has continued long after its first year.

“My mom was looking for an opportunity for … community music making and thought that was an opportunity to bring people together,” he said. “The group was initially formed just to perform at that bicentennial, but people had so much fun [that] we made it an annual event, with the idea being that it’s open to anyone, all ages, all skill levels.”

Originally, the band and chorus were fairly small, but that quickly grew, with the band and chorus now averaging around 50 members each in recent years. Many members stuck with the group for several years, growing up with the group as the membership increased, and there are even some families with multiple members in the group.

Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, a board member of the group, participates in the band along with her daughter Aleta Tessaglia-Hymes and mother-in-law, Sara Jane Hymes. Diane shared Earle’s appreciation for all the group has to offer.

“It gives people a chance to connect with other people,” Diane said. “It gives people a chance to play music with other people who don’t normally get a chance to do that. Especially once you’re out of school, how many opportunities do adults who are not professional musicians get to just make music with other people? So, it’s incredibly valuable in that way.”

The band and chorus typically have 12 rehearsals over the course of six weeks every summer and perform at a few local events and locations throughout the year, but COVID-19 disrupted those plans. Earle described what it was like for the group when the pandemic first hit ahead of their 25th season.

“This is going to be our big celebration,” Earle said. “We were planning to do some fun events around that and trying to brainstorm what we can do to make this year special. And once the pandemic hit, it became clear that gatherings weren’t going to be possible over the summer and that particularly, music-making gatherings are super-spreader events.”

By May, the pandemic was still going on, and the Board made the decision to cancel the usual summer season. But leadership still wanted to offer the same sort of music-making opportunity to the community. Earle said he and others saw great value in having some kind of activities for members, particularly with social distancing in place.

“With everyone sort of isolated and not seeing people in person, it’s even more important to find ways to connect and bring the community together,” Earle said. “Music can be a soothing and sort of helpful thing for people during difficult times. Music can provide a sense of ease, perhaps, and so, having music be a part of people’s lives — we wanted to make sure we were providing that.”

Rather than cancel group activities altogether, the band and chorus switched to virtual offerings. The usual rehearsal dates were kept consistent, with six chorus events and six band events running June 29 through Aug. 3. The chorus director held singing rehearsals and song discussions over Zoom, and the band director featured virtual lectures with speakers discussing topics around local music. All performances and concerts were canceled.

The decision to switch to virtual took a lot of creative thinking, and participation in the virtual events was about half of the typical rehearsal participation in past years. Diane explained that while many appreciated the chance to still make music together, adjusting to the change was challenging.

“It was definitely a learning experience for us,” Diane said. “It was a whole new way of interacting, and we learned as we went along. Overall, the people who attended valued the experience and were glad they participated.”

With the Dryden Area Intergenerational Band & Chorus’s 25th season officially over, the group is now looking to the future.

“I do hope that we can get together in person again because music is most rewarding when you can hear others around you,” Diane said. “If there isn’t a way to play music safely together next summer, then I hope we can continue to find ways for people to get involved online and offer the experience to even more people.”

While it was a challenging season for these local musicians, band and chorus members remain dedicated to their mission — providing an accepting, easy-going opportunity to come together as a community and make music, no matter the age. Earle shared his appreciation for the group and expressed that membership is always open.

“It’s just a great community opportunity that brings people together across the community, across ages,” Earle said. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities for intergenerational groups to get together and share and that sort of way, and so, I think that’s what makes this group special. It’s the exchange of teaching. You have the younger members teaching the older members and the older members teaching the younger members, and so, it’s great to see that kind of intergenerational exchange.”

Those interested in learning more can visit the Dryden Area Intergenerational Band & Chorus’s website at diabc.org.