Rock Voices Newton, a no-audition adult community choir, raised over $1,500 for the Newton Food Pantry during its Greatest Hits! concert on Saturday. 

Chorus members vote on a different local cause to support before each concert, this time choosing Newton Food Pantry, Newton’s oldest and largest food pantry, explained Diamondstein, board member and college liaison for the pantry

“We provide food assistance to more than 2,500 community members in need,” Diamondstein said. “Let that sink in. That’s 2,500 people who struggle to afford healthy and nutritious food here in Newton.” 

Rock Voices Newton is one of over 30 chapters nationwide, and Greatest Hits! was one of the Newton chapter’s three annual events. Adam Bernstein, the director of the Newton chapter, explained that the rehearsals and concerts are always fun.

“It ends up being a bit of a mad dash at the end,” Bernstein said. “But it’s always a really fun, supportive atmosphere and rehearsal. We try to introduce as many different songs as we can early on because we find that the more people listen to the music, the easier it is for them to memorize as the season goes on, because that’s one of the biggest hurdles to get over.”

Bernstein noted that sometimes there is a challenge in ensuring that everyone feels supported, regardless of their musical background.

“There’s people who are wanting me to talk a little more about the music theory and the advanced aspects of it, like the vocal technique, and there are other people who tell me that that goes right over their head and need it to just be ‘sing this, sing it back to me,’” Bernstein said. “I try my best to strike a good balance.”

Throughout the concert, the performers’ enthusiasm and dedication shone through as chorus members swayed, bounced, and tapped along with each song’s rhythm. 

Anyone should be able to share their love of music, even if they only sing in the shower, explained Babu Krishnamurthy, a soloist for the group.

“One of the things that they say about Rock Voices is, if you sing in the shower or sing in the car, you can sing up here, because there are no auditions,” said Krishnamurthy. “I’m going to amend that to say, even if you shouldn’t be singing in the car, shouldn’t be singing in the shower, you too can be up here.”

Between songs, performers gave personal anecdotes on their relationships with music. While Krishnamurthy grew up listening to her parents’ Indian devotional songs, she explained that Rock Voices rehearsals brought back fond memories of learning about American popular music as a young immigrant.

“This whole season, I have been having flashbacks—in a good way—about [fourth grade] music class and listening to all of you guys make that amazing music,” Krishnamurthy said.

For Rock Voices Newton, part of honoring the rock ’n’ roll spirit was to draw attention to its countercultural messages of hope, courage, and unity. Several songs in the concert highlighted these themes, such as “Hazy Shade of Winter,” “Shed a Little Light,” “Everyday People,” and “This Is Me.” 

Carol Lumm, a tenor who affectionately referred to Rock Voices as “my 100 new BFFs,” spoke about “Shed a Little Light” by James Taylor. 

“The message is gorgeous,” Lumm said. “It’s timely right now, with all the world is going through.”