The winter solstice is a time when the earth tilts farthest from the sun and brings with it the shortest day and longest night of the year. On that dark night, which some see as a time of reflection and renewal, Nyack’s All Together Now chorus gave a free concert at Angel Nyack to “sing in the light,” says chorus founder and native Nyacker Carol Galione, who has worked in nonprofit program management for several organizations, including United Hospice of Rockland and People to People. She has no background in music, but dreamed, as a teenager, of singing backup for Stevie Wonder or Joe Cocker.
“My husband is a musician, and I love music. I was inspired to create a chorus where anyone could sing — because we all can,” Galione asserts.
And all Together Now is not your typical chorus; it’s exceptionally inclusive and community-minded. Everyone is welcome regardless of musical ability or experience. Auditions and musical training are not required, and people can join whether or not they can pay the sliding-scale fee. The chorus is made up mostly of people from the Nyacks, but also from other towns in Rockland County and New Jersey. There are doctors, lawyers, social workers, makeup artists, business owners, some very professional musicians, and lots of people who are retired. As Zumba Gold instructor Jean Hurler notes: “It’s a chorus where it’s OK that you don’t know how to read music, an informal community, and so much fun. It really feels like a family.”
All Together Now formed in 2023 when some of Galione’s friends were feeling isolated by COVID. It began with six people meeting in their homes and grew to 15 rehearsing in The Old Stone Meeting House with Olivia Lionetti, who is now the chorus’ musical director. Lionetti majored in music and classical piano, sings jazz professionally, and teaches music at Dwight-Englewood School in New Jersey. Today, there are about 45 members with hopes to grow the chorus.
The musical repertoire is important to Galione, too: “It’s my music, the music I grew up hearing,” mostly songs of love, peace, and understanding from the sixties and seventies. At the concert, for example, the chorus performed the Christmas standard “Little Drummer Boy”; the arrangement came from an unlikely 1977 duet between David Bowie and Bing Crosby. They also sang songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Temptations, and others. The chorus was led by Lionetti on keyboards, with professional jazz musician Jim Donica, Galione’s husband, joining in on upright bass.
The concert ended with “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” In tune with All Together Now’s inclusivity, the audience was invited to sing along. Walking out, the woman ahead of me noted: “That song was the perfect choice. What a great reminder of what matters most in these dark times.”
Editor’s note: The chorus rehearses on Monday evenings (except the first of the month) at The Angel Nyack from 6 to 8 pm with hopes to play locally for groups and organizations, and, dreaming big, in Italy. The semester starts on January 19 and new members are welcome. Contact join.all2gether@gmail.com. To donate and receive a tax deduction, visit the Community Fund of Rockland Orange and Sullivan.
