Tom Lamphere of Johnson City knows the grief of losing friends to COVID-19 and the pride of knowing two members of his family helped victims of the pandemic.
That’s why the longtime member of the Binghamton Downtown Singers wanted to hold a special concert.
“We’ve all been touched by COVID-19,” he said. “So many people know someone who’s passed away from COVID. This is a way to memorialize them.”
On June 10, the Downtown Singers will perform “A Concert of Healing” at the Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church in Johnson City. The concert will honor the memory of those who died in the pandemic and pay tribute to the frontline workers who labored to protect everyone from the pandemic.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, more than a million people have died nationwide. In Broome County, more than 600 people have died from COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Marisa Crabb, the orchestra and community choir will perform Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem” (1865-1868) and Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” (2013). Forrest, 45, is a native of Breesport in Chemung County.
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Featured soloists are Julia Ebner, soprano; Timothy LeFebvre, baritone; Ana Stoye, child soprano; and Dann Coakwell, tenor.
The idea for the concert belongs to Lamphere, who lost two friends to COVID-19 and still tears up when he talks about them.
“I do have a real personal reason to do this concert,” Lamphere said.
Lamphere also has two frontline workers in his family. His daughter works for the Broome County Health Department while a grandson worked on the COVID unit of UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, he said.
“This is a…
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