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MHS students provide musical entertainment for local seniors

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY MHS vocal music students under the direction of Amy Ose performed “Singing Valentines” at a host of local spots including Glenwood Place, where they are pictured, on Tuesday afternoon.

When Glenwood Place Community Relations Manager Brooke Davis reached out to the Marshalltown High School vocal music department about potentially bringing a few students out to sing love songs for her residents on Valentine’s Day, she said she thought she’d be lucky if she was able to round up a trio or a quartet.

Much to her surprise, 14 students — all females — answered the call and crooned classics like “Stand By Me,” “Chapel of Love” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” for an appreciative audience clapping and singing along most of the time. In addition to Glenwood, the group, under the direction of High School Vocal Music Instructor Amy Ose, traveled to the UnityPoint hospital, Iowa River Hospice and other nursing homes and assisted living facilities around town.

As Davis noted, the holiday can be difficult for seniors who are either widowed or living apart from their significant other, and she hoped the music could bring a little bit of joy to those people. This is the first year students have performed a “Singing Valentines” routine.

“I don’t know why this came to me, but I thought it would be enlightening for everyone,” Davis said.

The singers didn’t have a ton of time to reflect between performances — after singing in two different areas at Glenwood, they were off to the next stop — but Ose was excited to be doing it again like she had at a previous job in Minnesota.

“I love the community contact, and the more we can get our young people out here showing what they do and their love of our community, it just makes everything better,” Ose said.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.

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