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They disagree on a lot of things, but these singers know how to stay in harmony

Pabio November 19, 2024

Over the past few years and during this year’s contentious election campaign, rooted in America’s deep divisions, the way people talk to each other has hardened. We wanted to explore how some people try to bridge the divides. We asked our NPR journalists to look for examples of people working through their differences. We share these stories in our Seeking Common Ground series.

PAONIA, Colo. — On a Wednesday evening, in a spacious, contemporary-looking church on the edge of Paonia, a small town in western Colorado, the forty members of the North Fork Community Choir completed their regular warm-ups.

“Really pay attention to the ‘E’ vowel,” said music director Stephanie Helleckson, as she guided the singers through different scales and arpeggios from behind a music stand. “See if you can make this a little rounder as a group.”

Helleckson listened carefully to the way the singers’ voices blended together; details matter in an art form that aims to achieve harmony.

Helleckson, who comes from a musical family and spent most of his life in Paonia, said harmony is important, not only musically, but also socially.

“Because we all come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, and we come together to do something together, we have to learn to disagree with someone, while still working with them,” said the lively and pragmatic musical director. .

A view of Paonia, Colorado, and the surrounding West Elk Mountains.

The North Fork Community Choir is based in a part of the country where politics is everywhere.

Paonia has farming and ranching families, artists, winemakers, remote workers — and a mix of political views, a choir member says.

The North Fork is an ideologically diverse community

Cooperation is not a given, since the North Fork Community Choir is based in a region of the country where politics is omnipresent. The singers had to find creative ways to keep singing in harmony.

“We have people in the choir from the far right to the far left,” said choir member Jan Tuin.

Tuin has lived in the area since 1964. He said his father, an auto body repairer, moved the family near Denver in search of a slower pace of life. Over coffee at Paonia Books, a hip and new bookstore and cafe in downtown Paonia, Tuin said mining, farming and ranching families that have been around for generations were reached over the course in recent decades by an influx of artists, winemakers and remote workers. areas like technology.

Choir member Jan Tuin, who helped found the area's first community singing group, at his home in Hotchkiss, Colorado. — Choir member Jan Tuin, who helped found the area’s first community singing group, at his home in Hotchkiss, Colorado.

“And so the people here now are a lot more diverse, I would say,” Tuin said.

Almost everyone in the choir is white, reflecting the racial background of the area. demographics. But the members range in age from 11 to 87 years old. Some singers believe in God; others don’t. Some own guns; others don’t. When the choir required masks and/or vaccinations for rehearsals at various points during the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with federal recommendations, some were happy to comply. But at least one member resigned.

Tuin said people avoid discussing potentially controversial topics during rehearsals. “We talk a lot about our gardens,” he says with a laugh.

Regardless of their political views and values, the two dozen singers NPR spoke with for this story all said they focused on making music as a unifying force and as a way to at least temporarily forget the differences. This includes choir members Mary Bachran, the recently retired mayor of Paonia, a blue-leaning town (“We create harmonies together. It’s so wonderful.”) and Chris Johnson, the recently appointed mayor of Crawford, a red-leaning ranching community. (“We’re all just here to sing.”)

Mary Bachran, community choir member and former mayor, in downtown Paonia, Colorado.

All is not well in “America”

Yet the music itself sometimes brings out the differences.

The choir program on Broadway this spring is a good example. These were medleys from well-known musicals such as My beautiful lady, To rent out, Pippin apple, Dear Evan Hansen – And West Side History.

The latter’s song “America”, created in 1957, could be one of the most famous in the American musical canon. But some of the words Describing Puerto Rico as an “ugly island” rife with disease and poverty didn’t sit well with singers like Ellie Roberts.

“I really struggled with that because it kind of implies that Puerto Rico stinks and why wouldn’t they leave?” » said Roberts. “And that kind of encouraged some of these stereotypes.”

Roberts, a local teacher, said the choir discussed the issue during rehearsals. “What do we celebrate and what don’t we want to celebrate?” she said.

They thought about changing the lyrics, but ended up making the song with a disclaimer that musical director Helleckson made from the stage.

“You have to think about the context of this piece,” Helleckson said in a video of the performance filmed in May. “There are some things in this play that may not be as acceptable today as they were when it came out.”

The North Fork Community Choir practices at North Fork Baptist Church in Paonia, Colorado.

Music director Stephanie Helleckson, who spent most of her life in Paonia, directs the church's community choir. — Music director Stephanie Helleckson, who spent most of her life in Paonia, directs the church’s community choir.

During community choir practice at North Fork Baptist Church in Paonia.

“Master of the house” also a problem

Meanwhile, other members of the ensemble raised a different concern about the noisy show of Les Misestable“Master of the house.”

In the song, a shabby innkeeper and his suite of petty criminals call on Jesus while they defraud their customers.

“It bothered me because I didn’t want to use the Lord’s name that way,” said singer Kim Johnson, a Christian counselor. Johnson said she and other group members discussed the issue with Helleckson and came up with alternatives to singing “Jesus.”

“I sang ‘cheeses’ instead of ‘Jesus,'” Johnson said. “It worked.”

Pushing boundaries to start conversations

Helleckson said she knew the Broadway program would be a bit provocative.

“It pushes boundaries that some people are not comfortable with in our little rural pocket of America,” Helleckson said. “And so part of programming this music is having these conversations. So we’re not just assuming that everyone is the same as us and everyone believes the same things and acts the same way.”

According to Chorus America report In assessing the impact of group singing, choir members are more adaptable and more tolerant of others than the general population. “Nearly two-thirds of singers (63%) believe that participating in a choir has made them more open and accepting of people who are different from them or who have different opinions,” the study notes.

Professor of sociology at New York University Eric Klinenberg said that simply coming together to undertake a regular, shared activity with others, such as choral singing, can help build bridges. But it is possible for these groups to go further.

“If your goal is just to get a group of people together to sing well, forgetting about everyone else, maybe you don’t need to encourage these other conversations about politics,” Klinenberg said , which studies how people come together and connect. both within and across ideological lines.

But, he added, if the goal is also to create a more decent society and bridge differences by using the relationships you build by making music together as a basis of trust to advance a conversation about something something like politics, “this could be a great opportunity.” thing.”

Chris Johnson, choir member and recently appointed mayor of Crawford, Colorado, says: "We're all just here to sing." — Chris Johnson, a choir member and recently appointed mayor of Crawford, Colorado, says, “We’re all just here to sing.”

Choir members hug each other during practice the day after Election Day.

Small steps towards better understanding

In some ways, the issues raised at the Broadway concert are in line with this aspiration. Choir member Chris Johnson, for example, said he had no problem with West Side History. But he doesn’t blame those who insisted that this disclaimer be adopted.

“I don’t think that explanation was necessary, but that’s OK,” he said.

And singer Linda Talbott said her mind was broadened as a result of the religious objections other singers in the group had to make. Les Mis.

“I think I’m a lot more aware now of what might be objectionable to some people,” she said. “I don’t think I thought about it. It was there in front of me, I wanted to sing it and I did.”

Helleckson said she would like to continue programming more material that inspires these types of conversations.

The North Fork Community Choir is preparing for upcoming holiday performances.

In the meantime, the ensemble is preparing for two Christmas performances of Handel Messiah. The singers said the music was a challenge. But so far it hasn’t been too controversial.