By Cathy Miller

For over 40 years, Abilities of Northwest Jersey has provided community integrated employment and day program support services for individuals with disabilities. Their innovative programs help consumers achieve their goals through forward-thinking, consumer-driven opportunities for success. Such is the case with its Music and Arts Enrichment Program.

In February 2018, Patricia Evans, Abilities’ music and arts director, joined the organization and established its music program. In part, her passion has empowered the singers at Abilities, providing a medium to showcase their own musical interests. Named The Rockstars, the choir is designed for all levels of ability and participation.

Her past “centered around excellence and the achievement of it,” she said. Though she had a stint in medical school, she found that she missed music. She attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, singing with and learning from the “masters,” including the New York Philharmonic, famed conductor Seiji Ozawa, and opera singer-turned-household name Luciano Pavarotti.

A family circumstance forced her to move from New Jersey to the Philadelphia area. She reflected, “Turned out to be, as everything is, God’s way.”

There, she worked 10 years at Steinway, known for their handcrafted pianos.

“I was their concert and artist person, which meant that when pianists were touring, like Van Cliburn or Billy Joel, they’d select a piano, and I’d make sure it arrived at the venue,” she said. “I’d run the meet and greets and green room stuff.”

She also ran Steinway’s music education department, primarily for piano, at five locations.

Patricia returned to Morris County to be close to her parents and taught throughout the region’s school districts. In that time, she met the love of her life, her husband, Chris, with whom she has three adult children.

“Chris is a great musician,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have something in common with the person you spend all your time with. … We opted not to have a dining room in our house – instead we have a music room with guitars and a piano. Whenever we have company, that’s where we end up.”

Though it’s evident that music is where her heart is, six years ago, her mother’s health failing, Patricia decided to find solace by learning something new. Already an outdoors fan, she settled on horseback riding.

“A group of folks with autism visited the stable on Tuesdays and Fridays and the stable sought volunteers to escort their horses,” she said. “I got involved and struck up a friendship with another volunteer, Cindy Wildermuth.” Wildermuth, she would eventually learn, is the chief executive officer of Abilities.

A period of difficulty followed – Patricia was thrown from her horse and severely injured. She was 55 and when it was time to return to work, she knew that her injuries would never get better if she pushed herself too hard. She made the decision to take time off work, but she continued to volunteer at the stable.

After a year off, Patricia, still mourning the loss of her mother, decided to seek employment. The woman who ran the stable made the suggestion that Patricia talk to Cindy Wildermuth. The interaction was magical and affirming, she said:

“I told [Cindy] I was a music teacher. …
“Cindy said, ‘I run a place where we employ folks with different abilities and disabilities. My mother started the company and she’s always hoped to have a music program. Do you think you’d want to do that?’
“’Music! Of course!’
“Cindy said, ‘It’s a big job, we’re starting a whole music department.’”

As they talked, the woman at the stable came up to them and asked which of them had lost a bracelet. She said she believed it to be Patricia’s, but Patricia couldn’t believe it for a moment. Her mother’s delicate gold bracelet had never fallen off her wrist before and never would again. That it happened then seemed significant.

“It was like Mom saying, ‘This is it.’”

And so, the music program began. It is not a music therapy program, rather “my job is to show them how. That’s why we have The Rockstars. Along with music lessons, which are very conceptual, I felt the need to just sing, like singing around the campfire.”

The first choir began at the Abilities’ site in Hackettstown, and then expanded to the others.

“It has nothing to do with whether a person can sing. Some in the choir are non-verbal. One person can’t say any words, but he makes sounds. His phrasing is perfect,” she said. “Somebody else was unable to communicate. Now, with the help of a speech therapist, she tells jokes during music!”

The greatest part of the program, she said, is empowerment.

“I make sure to connect with every single person every time I see them,” she said. “Everybody is a part of the choir.”

She wants each of them to have a song they can identify with. She tries out songs until they react. One consumer, who tends to keep to themself, finally came out of their shell when the choir sang, “These Boots are Made for Walking.”

“What do we say?” Patricia prompted.
“All right boots, start walking,” answered the consumer.

Even those who can’t communicate well hold the microphone, or Patricia places it on their necks, and they can hear the sounds they make.

As the popularity of the choirs grew, a new idea popped into Patricia’s head – why not go out on tour? She exclaimed, “Let’s go sing!”

She found performance venues like hospitals, assisted living facilities, and special events.

“We’re having such a good time,” she said. “It’s to the point where everyone wants to be in the choir. I won’t turn anyone away.”

The logistics of taking The Rockstars on the road are copious.

“Getting the vans. Getting staff to go. Who can document for certain people. It’s an unbelievable task and always changes at the last second,” she said. Not all consumers have signed media releases, either, and it’s difficult to ensure their privacy in public. “Now that everybody wants to join, I’m starting in-house choirs because I can’t take them all every time.”

There are in-house choirs in Phillipsburg and Washington, which allow those with medical special needs to partake, as well. Hackettstown will be next, she said.

Abilities’ educators – including Patricia and arts instructor Emma Rimi – are always looking for ways to serve their consumers better and to create engagement with the community.

At Abilities of Northwest Jersey’s Diamonds in the Sky Celebration Dinner & Dance at Hawk Pointe Country Club on Friday, March 20, the public will get a chance to see both The Rockstars performing skills and consumers’ pottery skills. The gala, 6-10 p.m., includes cocktail hour, dinner, and a dance, with silent auction and a live performance from The Rockstars. (Registration must be received by Monday, March 2).

“We’ll have a representative piece of art from each location as part of the silent auction,” said Patricia, and The Rockstars’ performance will include a drum circle to encourage audience participation.

“It’s perfect for our population,” she explained. “You can’t make a mistake, you create so much energy, it’s wonderfully inclusive. I even got my husband involved, urging him to get busy drinking coffee because I needed those big Costco coffee cans. I remove the tops and cover them with packing tape, turning them into drums. Then I give them to the centers to decorate.”

Public performances by The Rockstars generate a lot of community recognition for Abilities and its music and arts program, but there’s always more to do. What would Patricia like to tackle next?

“There’s no reason why our Music and Arts Program can’t be a fine arts program,” she said, citing dance, painting, and theater as possible expansions. “Everybody enjoys music, but not everybody wants to sing. I thought a wonderful vehicle for creativity in everybody would be theater.”

An avid reader of the classics, Patricia envisions her consumers writing poetry and vignettes to perform alongside songs: “It wouldn’t be a play, it would be a loosely-termed opera. There’d be a story with speaking parts and music filling it in and carrying it.”

February 20 was Patricia’s two-year anniversary at Abilities. In that time, the Music and Arts Program has flourished. She credits the program’s success to excitement, ingenuity and the grace of God, noting, “My license plate reads ‘Everything is as it should be.’

“I’m so proud of my guys. I have so much admiration for the direct caregivers. These people are heroes. They are wonderful, kind, selfless and committed. I call it ‘love.’ I end every music class with love. There are so many kinds of love – self-love and love of God — love for your family, your friends, your community, the earth, everything. We sing songs about each kind of love. You can’t do these things without love.”

Abilities of Northwest Jersey has multiple locations throughout the county. Visit abilitiesnw.com for more information.

If you would like to recommend someone for person of the week, please reach out to Cathy at info@insidewarren.com.