“I met Art Hollencamp in the summer of 1978 when he was in law school and I was working for an advertising agency,” Hollencamp said.
But after being married for 35 years and having three children together, the couple was devastated when Art was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2015.
“My husband had been a very successful trial attorney,” Hollencamp said. “But after he passed away, I was suddenly faced with a loss of his income and companionship. I had to completely redefine my life.”
Hollencamp, like many widows suddenly faced with the loss of long-time spouses, found herself struggling to find out exactly who she was.
“I was no longer Art Hollencamp’s wife,” she said. “My children were grown and gone, and I was completely alone. I didn’t know what to do.”
She tried traditional grief counseling and found it somewhat helpful. But she knew she needed to find other ways to fill her time and to define her life as an individual.
“Art and I talked about what I would do when he was gone,” Hollencamp said. “We knew with his type of cancer that he would live for only a short while.”
Art knew his wife always love to sing and over the years had been involved in high school concert choir and a performing quartet. She had also been a part of a church choir for many years. He encouraged her to find a place to sing after he was gone.
“In the summer after Art passed away I discovered that there was a local chapter of the Sweet Adelines,” Hollencamp said. “I had heard them sing at a Valentine’s event years before but didn’t know much about the group.”
Hollencamp ended up joining the Gem City chapter of the Sweet Adelines, an a cappella choral group, in July of 2015.
“I was really grateful to get back into singing,” Hollencamp said. “I’ve been able to see progress in my voice since working with the coaches and it’s been a great benefit. I’ve rediscovered my voice.”
Hollencamp not only learned she could still sing, but also perform, since the Sweet Adelines is a show choir, performing a cappella songs along with choregraphed dance moves.
“I joined and it turned out that it was just right for so many reasons,” Hollencamp said. “I had to learn about 25 songs so I had to get myself organized and learn the choreography.”
Hollencamp soon discovered that it was not only something fun to do every Tuesday evening, but that the other members helped her learn and practice the music and soon became very close friends.
“I realized each member of this chorus has a story like mine,” Hollencamp said. “A family crisis or dealing with widowhood, health or divorce. The chorus has been a lifeline for them and it has become an important lifeline for me.”
While the widows grief groups offered some support, Hollencamp admits that going to dinner with others widows to talk about their dead husbands was not helping her move on completely.
“It has been great singing with this group of women and having fun,” Hollencamp said. “We work together to learn songs and put on shows and it’s an incredible process of getting out of yourself and helps you forget how sad or tired or beaten up you feel.”
Hollencamp began to realize how important it was to learn to “breathe” again and that while grieving she was holding her breath often because of the sadness and anxiety.
“I believe looking back over the last two years that I am physically transformed,” Hollencamp said. “I have been exercising and watching my diet and I’ve lost 42 pounds. I wouldn’t have been able to make that transition unless I had this activity and these wonderful women.”
The local Sweet Adelines chapter includes about 50 members, from their 40’s to age 92 from many walks of life.
“We have a lot of widows, and women who are retired,” Hollencamp said “We have women who have a lot of kids and retired military. They are all sincere and willing to take anyone in. Everyone loves to sing. That’s our common thread.”
For more information, log on to http://gemcitychorus.org/
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