Vicky Bush - Joseph HAS LIVED IN HINSDALE SINCE 1989 • MOTHER OF THREE, GRANDMOTHER OF THREE • WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL IN CLEVELAND • MARRIED TO CHUCK • PAST HINSDALE LIBRARY TRUSTEE
Former attorney Vicky Bush-Joseph of Hinsdale is keenly aware of justice's often exasperatingly slow tempo.
Joining a choral group post-retirement was refreshing for the tight time frame from first rehearsal to concert.
"This is relatively short and sweet," Bush-Joseph said of the Sounds Good Choir. "There's a beginning, there's an end and there's improvement - it's very fulfilling."
The alto will perform in the choir's summer show at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at The Community House (see Page 18 for details). The group consists of singers age "55 and better", Bush-Joseph quipped, quoting her conductor. No one is ever carded, however.
The summer program features rock music. And while the vocalists are amateurs, the accompanying musicians are seasoned pros.
"They always find amazing musicians for us," she said.
Bush-Joseph enjoyed singing in her youth but had muted that pursuit to focus on her career and raising a family. With that chapter closed, she looked to revive her love of making beautiful music with others. In 2017, a friend of a friend led her to the Sounds Good Choir, first in Oak Park and then closer to home when the Hinsdale chapter launched.
"You live in a town like this and you feel like you know everybody until you do something a little bit different, and it's like, 'We live in the same town and I've never run across you,' " she remarked.
Sounds Good has eight groups in the Chicago area. All follw the same repertoire so members of any chapter may participate in any concert. Performances at the Fourth Presbyterian Church with the Chicago branch are particularly stirring, Bush-Joseph remarked.
The pandemic, while hard, did give rise to online tools enabling snowbirds and others who miss in-person practice to stay connected through Zoom meetings and uploaded practice tracks. But virtual choir is decidedly not for Bush-Joseph.
"It's just not the same when you're not singing in a room with other people. Just hearing my own voice was not enjoyable," she related.
Bush-Joseph's love for collaboration has drawn her into multiple book clubs and onto the board of the nonprofit organization Together Women Rise.
"We are working with not-for-profits around the world on women's empowerment," she said, citing countries she's visited to witness both the progress and work that remains. "It's everything from girls' education to entrepreneur skills for women so they can earn money and gain respect."
Bush-Joseph most recently returned from a weeklong choir camp in Denver, Colo., preparing two symphonies while sleeping in a dorm with shared bathrooms.
"I didn't know anybody else going in but made lovely friends," she said. "We worked with a 50-piece orchestra, local musicians and a conductor from the University of Michigan. It was intense, but it's amazing what you start with at the beginning of the week and what you end up with."
Bush-Joseph encouraged her Hinsdale neighbors to enjoy some free entertainment at next week's family-friendly concert.
"I do believe that music heals and inspires. It's good for our souls, whether you're participating or listening," she said
- profile by Ken Knutson, photo by Jim Slonoff
