ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140009
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: EMILY ROGERS STAFF WRITER
The sounds of instruments tuning together fill an average-sized room at Radford Community Hospital.
The nine members of the Joy Makers, a local group that brings joy to those who need it most, stand against the room's far wall along with a Christmas tree.
Many of the 10 patients in the audience are confined to wheelchairs. Some can't talk. But Hospital Activities Director Tina Krayer says the music always has a calming effect on those coping with illness.
The Joy Makers' voices blend together for old favorites like "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night." The wrinkled faces in tonight's audience repay them with the simple words "again please."
Seven years ago Gertrude and Flemon Phillips gathered a group of their retired friends together to form a musical group.
The way Gertrude Phillips figured it, they could "sit around and feel sorry for themselves," or they could go out and do something. They chose the latter, she said, and now they "go out and bring joy to others."
Some of the group's musicians, like autoharp player Flemon Phillips, are self-taught. Others have been through lessons and played for as many as 50 years.
None of the group's members has a professional singing background, though many said their musical background began in the church choir.
Four of the musicians in Joy Makers are heart patients and must perform sitting down. But they don't dwell on their own medical problems.
The group regularly performs at Radford Community Hospital, Radford Nutrition Center, Wheatland Hills Nursing Home Care and several other nursing homes and retirement communities. The choir sings all year round, but the holiday season keeps them extra busy. The group has 18 singing engagements during the month of December.
The next performance will be at Christiansburg's Heritage Hall Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB