The expressions on the faces of Bayside Singers members Christl Mack, left, and Kennette Osborn as they step outdoors after a rehearsal reveal their enthusiasm for singing in harmony. Now covid restrictions are somewhat eased, the group meets weekly to practice in Ocean Park under the baton of professional musician Milton Williams. Masks indoors, social distancing and other health safety precautions remain.

OCEAN PARK — The thin baton, gripped delicately yet firmly between the octogenarian’s finger and thumb, is mesmerizing.

How to join

For more information about participating with Bayside Singers, contact Andrea Patten at (360) 642-2916.

The group is funded, in part, by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission.

It beats the air, creating magic like a wizard’s wand. Fourteen voices blend. All singers are masked, but joy is evident: all eyes sparkle.

“At the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark. … Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.”

The anthem, lifted from “Carousel” and adopted by soccer crowds, is fitting in a holy place. Rich soprano and alto notes decorate Ocean Park Lutheran Church.

Bayside Singers are in full voice.

And well-credentialed director Milton Williams is very much in command.

“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark…”

‘Life is Good’

The rehearsal is stop-start. A sonorous baritone, who sounds more like expert uncle than drill sergeant, inhabits the sanctuary. “It’s the same note. Dee-dum, dee-dum,” Williams says, pounding two keys on the black Apollo piano. “‘When you walk…’”

They try again. They stop again. “You can take a breath anywhere else, but not there,” he says, pointing out the note in the score. Timing breathing is his obsession, singers later whisper.

“Walk on…”

“I’m getting tired of walking.” Laughter eases the moment, but he is serious. Moving back and forth from lectern to piano is exhausting him. “I got out of shape before the pandemic and never got back,” he admits.

Help arrives. A turquoise octopus wearing ever-so cool sunglasses grins on Paula Burnett’s “Life Is Good” T-shirt. She steps to the piano stool to play notes as directed.

A conversation over clefs and a couple more walks “on through the rain” ends that portion of the rehearsal.

“Let’s put that down since we have mastered it,” Williams quips.

‘Greatest’ experience

Like everyone on the Long Beach Peninsula, the chorale is cautiously emerging from covid. Its 2020 pre-Christmas show was cancelled. Online Zoom gatherings during the shutdown gave way to in-person rehearsals June 1.

Hand sanitizer is prominent in the church lobby when they arrive to practice. Masks are required, so too are vaccinations. On this rehearsal afternoon, the group is predominantly female. Singers sit at least one chair apart, and, when leaning toward a colleague to share a verse, frustration evident when they sit back up.

But the camaraderie of singing in harmony is apparent.

“This is the greatest,” says Ruth Ann Evans from her front-row spot. Bringing a background from high school and church choirs, she joined in 2010 and serves as secretary. “There were only 12 of us when I started. We had 40 before covid. It’s been a great bonding experience for Peninsula folk. We have solid friendships here.”

The group was formed in 2007 by Sandy Nielson; more than a couple of original members still sing. Barbara Bate has been their longtime accompanist. Later they were directed by retired college opera instructor Barbara Poulshock. When she reached her 90s and stepped back a couple of years ago, they hired Williams, then aged 83. The professional musician and university music teacher had retired to Oysterville.

‘Fabulo

us’ reception

The group rehearses weekly, gives a couple of public performances a year and serenades residents of Golden Sands retirement center in Ocean Park. “It’s fabulous,” Evans adds. “People love us. We make money for the church and we spread it around.”

Covid changed everything. Some singers moved away; others didn’t care to “Zoom” and did not return.

But they need more voices.

“The smaller the group, the better you have to be!” laughs Andrea Patten, the group’s president. “We need all singers — bass and tenors, especially.”

Her enthusiasm is palpable. “There is such a joy in singing,” she beams in an accent that reveals her German roots. At first an individual student of Poulshock, she joined the group when the retired Pacific Lutheran University opera teacher became its leader.

Patten considers her personal musical development almost as “therapy” and describes singing as “finding her voice.” Darker winters are brightened by light sounds. “It is always so encouraging to my frame of mind and uplifting to my mood,” she explains.

She is leading recruitment efforts as covid restrictions ease, especially seeking men and younger singers. “We lost a lot of people,” she says, “and some people are waiting until we are singing without masks.”

She is an enthusiastic saleswoman.

“There’s a social component. For a lot of people, singing in a chorus is very supportive,” she says. “And there’s the beauty of the music.”

‘Excitement’ in the sounds

That’s the cue for Tim Osiek’s stirring arrangement of the old spiritual “Like a River in My Soul.”

Bayside voices float.

“I’ve got peace like a river.”

They stop. “The only problem is you don’t like to follow me,” Williams teases. “You really need to learn how to follow the stick.” He hums a line, poking the air with his baton, alternating admonition with humor. “I’m giving an actual beat. You must be with the stick, otherwise you don’t need me!”

“I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul … I’ve got joy like a fountain.”

One critic wrote that Osiek’s recent adaptation for lyrics which became popular in the 1960s, “reaches down into your soul and brings a spirit of calm and peace.”

Too much, apparently. “More energy!” the conductor exhorts. “C’mon.”

They break, and after chit-chat, disperse until the following Tuesday afternoon.

‘Soulful’ selections

Williams concedes their June and July return-from-covid gatherings are an effort to “rebuild” the chorale’s long-idled voices before preparing for the public performance.

“I’m pleased to say our first season together was a complete joy, with amazing musical accomplishment,” he says. “Their excitement for the music, eagerness to perform the work, and intrinsic talents were very much appreciated by me — as well as the enthusiastic audiences who witnessed their musical development.”

Williams taught at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. He sang professionally throughout Europe and helped stage Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” at the Vatican.

When he took over from Poulshock, chorale members adapted to his more intense style.

His musical selections — including his own compositions — wowed them.

“You don’t have them all the time any more — classic songs,” says Kennette Osborn, a 23-year Peninsula resident. She is new to Bayside, but has a background in performing with other groups.

“The music is just amazing,” Osborn says. “To have discipline and a great conductor and fellowship with people of like interests … the music he chooses is so soulful.”