Joan Waite performs spirituals and love songs to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
By: Anthony Stoeckert
It’s not every singer who can take spirituals, perform them alongside songs written by everyone from Mozart to Stevie Wonder and make them her own, but that’s what Joan Waite manages to do.
Ms. Waite’s concert at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen Oct. 22 will open with a set of African-American spirituals. The second set will consist of love songs written by various composers.
When asked what leads to the decision to add a song to her repertoire, Ms. Waite says it starts with simple admiration.
"The first thing is that the song be something I really like," she says. "I’ve heard it and it says something to me and it really appeals to me and I enjoy listening to it." She then works with her voice instructor to connect songs by theme and choose an order so that the evening’s music will flow.
Thus, the love song portion of the evening will begin with Mozart and lead into Schumann, Stevie Wonder, Sandy Linzer, Gershwin, then back to Wonder before closing with Gershwin’s "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and Richard Rogers’ "I Could Write a Book." The songs cover all kinds of love, from the romantic love of Wonder’s "You and I," the spiritual love of Linzer’s "I Believe in You" and the parental love of Gershwin’s "Summertime."
"(They) aren’t done chronologically, they’re done in terms of theme," Ms. Waite says. "One theme leads to another and then finally ‘I Can Write a Book’ about how wonderful our relationship is."
The African-American spirituals are of particular importance to Ms. Waite, who feels it’s important to keep them alive.
"I believe they’re so meaningful, even today," she says. "First of all because they reflect the creativity and musical genius, I would say, of people who had no formal education. But yet were able to reach emotional depths to give us this profound expression."
The spirituals she’ll be performing range from solemn songs, including one about the crucifixion, which is followed by the spiritually charged "Ride On King Jesus." The range of emotion in these songs adds another element to Ms. Waite’s repertoire, although many people see them as being sorrowful.
"They reflect the full range of emotions that come out of their commitment to Christianity, which they saw as their way of escaping, in a sense, from slavery," she says. As an example, she notes that "Ride On King Jesus," while sounding somber, is actually a joyful and hopeful song because it’s about the happiness slaves would be greeted with in heaven. Ms. Waite says she began incorporating more spirituals into her performances after her fans (most notably her husband, Bob) asked for them. Concert-goers are also responsible for her adding English-songs to the lineup as well.
Ms. Waite, 72, has been singing most of her life. After retiring 12 years ago, she and Mr. Waite, who live in South Brunswick, began going to concerts in the Princeton area. She was particularly impressed with the Westminster Jubilee Singers at Rider University, and called about joining them. After being told the program was for serious music students, Ms. Waite eventually joined, paying $500 a semester for one course to qualify.
"That blew me away," she says of the cost. "It had been a long time since I paid for college tuition. But I paid it, I was retired and I wanted to enjoy myself. I did it for four years, then graduated myself."
She went on to study with a voice coach, Deborah Ford of Trenton. After eight years, she felt she had grown enough to give concerts.
"While I was in the Jubilee Singers I really wanted to sing some solos," she says. "I did once, but that was about it, I wasn’t singing and rehearsing every day the way these kids in the choir were… As I took the lessons and was encouraged by Deborah, I realized I could give my own concerts."
The upcoming concert (during which she’ll be accompanied by Peter Lauffer on piano) is a particularly special one for Ms. Waite as she’ll be performing at the congregation she’s a member of, and will be raising money for a charity that’s close to her heart.
"Trenton Area Soup Kitchen is perhaps the largest soup kitchen in the area," she says. "They provide hundreds of people every day with lunches and dinners, so my husband and I have been going down there at least once a month with a volunteer group from our church to assist by serving the food."
Spirituals and Songs of Love: Mozart to Stevie Wonder will be performed by Joan Waite, accompanied by Peter Lauffer, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. Tickets cost $20 and may be purchased at the door the day of the performance. On the Web: www.uuprinceton.org/members/calendar/20061022_joan_waite.aspx

