Goodbye Mrs Lange….

Originally run June 2008

It is going to be hard for me to imagine the High School Choirs without Nancy Lange. With her retirement now eminent, I still remember when I first saw her long ago. Back in the mid 1970s, when I went to Neff Elementary, The Madrigal Singers came to perform for us. I can so clearly remember us all sitting on the floor “Indian style” in the gym and the Madrigals roaming around us and singing. It opened up a whole new world of music and song to me. The highlight of the show, and the one song I can remember, and even still sing, was “Dad’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow! (and we can stay all day)”

Years later when I entered Ninth Grade and went to Sawdon School, I again met Nancy Lange when I joined the Freshman Choir. On my first day, I couldn’t even find the choir room; it was beyond the cafeteria, tucked into a corner of the building. We had three guys in a choir of girls; needless to say we were vocally quite outnumbered. In those days, the early 1980s, we had five singing groups: Freshman Choir at Sawdon, then at the High School -Ladies Ensemble, Concert Choir, Madrigals Singers, and the Barbershop Quartet. I was lucky enough to be in Concert Choir and also later two years in Madrigals.

Nancy Lange had us do many things in those years, we recorded an album, we performed Handel’s Messiah, performed five musicals, and we took a trip to Washington D.C. to perform at the National Cathedral. Madrigals were also often in demand to perform at events around the area. One time in particular, we had to learn special lyrics someone had written to the tune of “You picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille” by Kenny Rogers. It was to honor Lucille Belen, the long time Lansing City Councilwoman. The new lyrics were all about the ins and outs of Lansing politics at the time. I can only assume they were quite clever, they meant nothing to us. Unfortunately, Ms. Belen was enjoying herself so much at her party, I don’t think she ever heard of word of the song!

Looking back now, I was certainly lucky to be in choir those four years. The old choir room became a place of calm for me in the whirl of High School and I spent all my free time there. I certainly was not a great singer, by any means, but I think Mrs. Lange understood it was the fun and interaction I really needed. When it came time for her seniors to graduate, she had a long tradition of letting us sign one of the walls in the choir room. Just a way of saying “we were here”. I don’t know how I would have gotten through High School without choir and Nancy Lange. I certainly wish her the best in her retirement.