PopSyndicate.com

Susan Kandell (Pop Syndicate): Good morning! I’m Susan Kandell from Pop Syndicate. When Rodercik (from Moroch) sent me an email requesting my presence at the screening, he promised that this would be my favorite film of all year! He doesn’t say things like that very often because he’s got other films coming down the pike. How could I turn that recommendation down? And he was right! From the moment the film began, I was on my feet singin’ & dancin’. I am thrilled to meet you both! I admire the work you are doing.

Dora Morrow & Jack Schnepp: Thank you!

PS: I have so many questions for you – Let’s start with your background. Dora, I read in the press notes that you have 15 children!

DM: Yes I do!

PS: Oh my - I only have two and can’t keep up with them! (We all laugh!) Did you sing when you were younger?

DM: Yes, I did, but it was in church choirs and I was a gospel singer, not the songs I’m singing now.

PS: Did you ever think that at this point in your life – this is what you’d be doing?

DM: No! I never dreamed I’d be doing this. Never came across my mind – I would have never thought about doing something like this.

PS: If not singing, what would you have been doing otherwise?

DM: (She thinks for a moment) I love the outdoors – so I would have been doing something outdoors – I love flowers, so I suppose gardening. Yes, I would have been doing something like that. And running across the country to see my kids.

PS: Are they all over the country?

DM: All over the country.  So that’s what I would be doing!

PS: (directed to Dora’s granddaughter who is in attendance) Do you live here?

Granddaughter : (She nods her head).

PS: So that worked out very well – you get to spend some quality time with your grandmother. (Back to Dora) Why did you move from Indiana to Springfield?

DM: After my husband passed, my kids felt that I should not live in Indiana anymore and that I should live in Springfield, closer to some of them. When you have 15 to fight – you can’t bat 15 balls at one time! So you just have to say – oh well! Whatever!

PS: I have family in Springfield and Longmeadow and Holyoke. It’s a beautiful part of the country!

DM & JS: They shake their heads in agreement – yes it is – it’s a pretty part of the country!

DM: My granddaughter comes from Holyoke.

PS: Maybe you know my family – The Berezins? My aunt and uncle have five sons. When I heard you had 15 children, I couldn’t help but think, What are they putting in the water over there?

(laughter all around)

PS: (directed to Jack) I’m assuming you don’t have 15 kids. But you are from Wilbraham and sing with the Springfield Golden Age Club. You were an executive, right?

JS: I was in management. I started out with Ford Motor Company as a buyer and wound up as a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection for the state of Massachusetts. I retired from there in 1997.

PS: And then you said, what I really want to do now is sing?!

JS: Well, I had sung in high school and at the university and then the family came and it became second fiddle and before I retired I joined the barbershop chorus just to sing again. One of our members belonged to Young@Heart and he came back saying what a good trip he had to Rotterdam. I love to travel, so I auditioned and I’ve been with them for the last nine years.

PS: What was your audition like?

JS: When you sing in the barbershop chorus, you‘re one of 35 or so. And in the audition, you’re by yourself. It wasn’t my best audition – it was a little quivery, but it worked well enough for Bob to say, yeah – you can fit in the chorus, so it worked out well.

PS: Where have you traveled with Young@Heart? 

JS: Let’s see, we’ve hit England, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Hawaii and Australia. We’ve gone back to Zürich twice, Berlin twice, Rotterdam about three times and London twice. We were presented to the king and queen of Norway when we performed over there in a festival – a truly great experience! Lovely towns.  That’s one of the big pluses of traveling over there, is that they’re so beautiful.

PS: You need to entertain here in the United States. Any plans to?

JS: We’d love to.  I think the presenters over there have more money available for that type of programming.  They take a chance on bringing people in that are perhaps a little different. Over here its profit oriented and they want to know how much up front they’re going to make.  And we’re not well-known.  Maybe this will help. We’d love to perform here.

PS: Maybe this will help.  I’m sure it will. In fact, everyone I’ve mentioned it has seen a short preview or snippets on You Tube have said it looks wonderful!  When is it going to be released? So, Dora, what was your audition like?

DM: It was five years ago.  Let me think!  I know! It was a spiritual song about being in a land where you’ll never grow old.

PS: Good choice, a very good choice. So, was anyone apprehensive about singing in a prison?

JS: I had gone to prison twice.

PS: Not for a crime I hope!

JS: (laughter) No, with the barbershop chorus and we went into the cell blocks. We were kind of leery about going in and they enjoyed it. Even when we left we still didn’t feel that comfortable.  So going into this one, I still had some of that in the back of my mind.  But when we found where we were going to perform - out in the open, it was much more relaxing and that helped us sing well for the guys.

PS: And you Dora, were you apprehensive about it?

DM: No, because when I lived in Tennessee, which was my home at the time, we would go to the prison every first Sunday of the month and sing to them because they would request for our pastor. They loved our pastor to come down and teach them and talk to them.  And so we would go to the prison there and I got used to it. But the first time we went, we weren’t quite sure about it. But after we started doing it regularly, it was really very nice.  They would bring them all out into the hallway like we’re in a church and they would always sit patient and listen and they would enjoy.

PS: The prison scene was perhaps my favorite.

JS & DM: (together) Really?

PS: The choice of songs—Forever Young.

DM: Forever Young - that’s my favorite!

JS: That’s our theme song.  Looking at the fellows faces you can see them smile and get a little moist in their eyes.  I think they’re thinking back to a nice time in their lives maybe with their grandparents.  It was touching for us to. I didn’t expect that.

DM: You think back when you were young. Won’t you forever stay young? No, no you can’t.

PS: I thank you so much for your time today.

JS: Thank you for taking the time to come down.

DM: Thank you for seeing it!

PS: I’m going to recommend the movie to just about everybody.

JS: That’s what we like to hear!  Nice meeting you!

PS: Nice meeting both of you & may you continue to sing, Forever Young!

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