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(Published April 8, 2002)

This was another two-and-a-half hour rehearsal for the Town and Gown Singers in a sequence of weekly practices that began last semester at the Catholic University of America in Northeast Washington.

Men and women of all ages and experience, including residents of the Brookland neighborhood and Catholic University students and professors, make up the new choir that so far numbers less than 30 members.

The vocalists relieved tension from their day's work by lifting their arms above their heads to straighten their posture and reenergize in order to emit their harmonious melodies. Choir director Leo Nestor, a professor of music at Catholic University, used humor to uplift tired bodies and spirits. Rather than speaking his instructions, Nestor sang them and directed the choir members to do likewise with their response. "We do not sing as we speak," they sang.

At a recent practice session on March 26, they rehearsed musical pieces that embodied the sensations of spring and concepts of love. The sacred and secular works depicted the evolution in musical style that spans over centuries.

"Make it gorgeous, try it again - it's got to be rich and warm. Find the focus. If you open your ears, you tell each other what to do," Nestor said, as vocal accompanist Stephen Lay played the piano.

"Warm it up. We might need jumper cables. Where's your battery?" Nestor coached, as the vocalists began supporting their lyrics with deeper and fuller breaths.

The singers will perform a recital of works in progress before their first audience at 8 p.m. April 23 in the university's St. Vincent Chapel. It's all a part of Catholic University wanting to extend its outreach to the community, said Marilyn Neeley, the dean of CUA's School of Music.

Nestor said performances are necessary to the art. "Music isn't music until it's performed," he asserted.

The choir director said he is eager to see discernable growth in the number of chorus members and wants to recruit residents from all D.C. neighborhoods so that the music and the ensemble can evolve. The current size of the chorus is extremely small compared to most, Nestor said, noting that one member hadn't been in a choir with less than 80 people in the last 30 years.

Fritz von Fleckenstein, the group's membership chairman, said he and his wife, Ruth, joined the choir after seeing a flyer for the Town and Gown Singers posted on the campus.

"We began singing with the choir the third rehearsal in early October of last year. I noticed that there were only CUA students in the choir, so I posted a message on the Brookland listserv urging singers to come out. As a result, several residents joined the choir," von Fleckenstein said.

"The experience is invaluable - it's like taking a college course. We both have enjoyed it very much. It's a fantastic way to get vocal instruction and it's free," he said.

Von Fleckenstein also offered praise for Nestor, whom he said "spends a great amount of time working our voices before getting to the music. He has such a charming [instructional method] and helps us with gestures and not just words."

As soprano Stacey Tanner, an elementary music education teacher, sang the solo in a Mozart arrangement during a recent rehearsal, Nestor offered encouragement: "Each line has new life, it moves to a place, reaches a destination. It wants to go, never plop on [the notes], let it go."

The singers practiced one composition that they began learning during the Jewish high holy days, alternating in Hebrew and English just as a cantor would sing in a temple. The choir also rehearsed a 16th century English love ballad and sang a capella in Italian.

"I invite them to keep their ears open. It's like a physical conditioning class, like going to the gym," Nestor said.

Nestor said he is pleased with the choir's progress and feels the singers are ready for their first audience.

"I am hungry for performance. And for a beginning choir, I am so pleased with these people. They give so much of their time and they deserve the payback. There's nothing like the vocal ensemble experience," Nestor said.