Finding A Voice

Whether someone enjoys singing in the shower, a car or on stage, musician, founder and Director of Rock Voices Tony Lechner ’93, ’97 MM wants his choir to celebrate their inner rock star.

“When most people think of a choir, they think of church or classical music, and that scares people away,” Lechner admits. “What I offer is more like a rock band where everyone can sing. It’s an entry point for people who might not think they’re good enough.”

The voice, jazz composition and arranging major worked for years as a middle school music teacher in the Pioneer Valley but felt that his passion began to veer toward helping singers of all ages and backgrounds.

“I’ve always loved teaching, but I saw a need for an outlet aimed at adults who wouldn’t otherwise have access to the arts,” Lechner says. “There’s so much research surrounding the benefits of singing as therapy for your brain, emotional and physical wellbeing, and even your spirit, so I wanted to make that available to everyone regardless of their skill level.”

According to Lechner, Rock Voices began as a pet project alongside his teaching career, but after witnessing its initial success, he decided to make it his full time job in 2012.

“I trusted my instincts, worked out a business plan together with the support of my wife, then quit teaching and dove right in,” Lechner notes. “I had a newborn and an almost two year old so everyone thought I was crazy, but it totally paid off. I took an ad out in the paper and 50 people showed up the first night.”

The choir now consists of more than two hundred members that rehearse in four locations – Northampton, MA; Hadley, MA; West Hartford, CT and Brattleboro, VT. During each season, the groups meet weekly to belt out a lineup of modern and classic rock n’ roll songs. With just a few weeks to learn melodies, lyrics and musical cues, the choir – and Lechner – move quickly to put on a professional-quality performance for audiences in the northeast.



“It’s amazing how many songs we perform each season,” Lechner notes. “This summer, there’s 20 songs on the set list and some of them are particularly challenging in terms of harmonies and lyrics.”

It’s not just singing for Lechner, either – he has his hands in every step of the rehearsal process. Weeks before another season starts, Lechner chooses the songs for the upcoming set list, arranges the sheet music, creates audio files of every vocal section for each song, hires a band for the live performances and reserves the spaces for the shows.

“There really isn’t a quiet period during a season or in between performances,” says Lechner. To help with rehearsals, Lechner hired fellow UMass alumna and longtime friend Ramsey Kurdi ’94 to direct singers in West Hartford and has recruited UMass music major Anthony Ferreira ’19 to intern for the summer season.

In addition to providing a safe and supportive space for community singers, Lecher also uses Rock Voices as an outlet to raise awareness and funds for local organizations in need.

“Every concert, we try to raise money for a different group,” Lechner remarks. “This year, we will be doing raffles and sales at our performances to support the Northampton Survival Center and the Care One Rehabilitation Center in Holyoke. Every year we help up to ten charities.”

Moving forward, Lechner is optimistic that his unique approach to choir singing will catch on a national level.

“I want to take this all over America,” he says. “I’m in the process of hiring directors who want to be a part of the Rock Voices movement across the country. People seem to love it, so why not expand and spread the joy? Our mission statement is 'healing ourselves and others through song', and my plan is to get everyone in America singing with Rock Voices.”

Learn more at http://tonylechner.com/ or connect with Tony on LinkedIn or at tony@valleychoirs.com.

Learn more about Rock Voices and how to participate in the next season.

By Samm Smith ’08