Singing at the Threshold

Members of Threshold Choir at their national gathering at Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg, CA.

INVERNESS, CA - As Susan Miller, the chaplain and two others softly sang to the fragile form covered with a blanket in the Marin General Hospital’s ICU, she noticed the ragged lines on the monitor change from their erratic pattern to a smooth, gentle rhythm. It was then that Susan realized the healing power and intention of their music had reached deeply into this woman and touched her even as she lay in a final coma.

Susan is an active member of the Threshold Choir, a non-profit, non-religious group with over 2500 mostly female members. Founded by Kate Munger, and now in its tenth year, it is not your typical choir and members do not perform for audiences in the traditional sense.

Comprised of various regional choirs spread across the country, and a few internationally, members sing in groups of two or three at the bedsides of the sick and dying. All the choirs sing the same repertoire of songs, about half of which are original rounds written by the women in the group. A sacred tradition dating back to medieval times, the songs are sung to heal, sooth and ease the passing from this life to the next.

“Yesterday I sang for a young woman who was close to death from cancer.” Kate recalled. “She wasn’t communicating, but I could see her relaxing while we sang. It was almost more for her parents who could finally feel some break in the relentless and excruciating part of it; that someone really cared and filled the room with love.”

There are currently 100 choirs; 76 fully active, 23 in start up, and the 100th choir is in the process of being signed up. Kate has dedicated the past ten years of her life to the choir singing for those in need and supporting other regional choirs.

It is also a community of women who provide remarkable support and healing for one another. The experience with the choir taught Susan how to “just be there and be present for her mother and family with great consciousness” when her mother was passing away and as she sang to her, easing her transition into the next life.

Contact:

Kate Munger
kate@thresholdchoir.org

Tel: 415.669.1413