The Music Man – Kurt Martin
A Conversational Interview
Sun, Aug 13, 2023
SPEAKERS: Mary Smith, Kurt Martin, Marguerite Chandler
Marguerite Chandler 00.00
I think we should just forge ahead here. And I’m going to take some notes that’ll help me with the transcription. Okay. This is recording, and you can start in.
Kurt Martin 00:47
I thought we were videoing. I could have just worn my pajamas!
Mary Smith 00:53
She might take your picture though! (laughter)
Marguerite Chandler 00:58
So, how did you get to Pennswood?
Kurt Martin 01:02
This is a great story. A dear friend of mine, who has since passed, got a call from Pennswood that they needed a pianist to back up their musical revue, and he had a day job at the time. He wasn’t able to do it since rehearsals were during the day. So he gave my name to Thelma Neufeld to call to see if I’d be interested. I said,” Sure.” (Not only was it during the day, but even when the show occurred, it was like a Monday or a Tuesday.) “You’d fit in perfectly with my schedule.” Thelma said, “Well, come over here, and we’ll meet with you.” So I came over. I had a two o’clock appointment. And I got here at 2:05. And the first words out of Thelma’s mouth were, “You’re late!” I thought, “Oh, I’m in big trouble now. I’m not going to get this job.” But they took me into Penn Hall—George Fisk, God rest him, and Helen Greven, God rest her. The three of them interviewed me for the job. And I was just chomping at the bit. This sounded right up my alley. After I left, they discussed it, and Thelma called me (I don’t know if it was later that evening or the next day). She said, “Yeah. We definitely want you to be our accompanist. So our first show was like…. it was so much fun….you know, the rehearsals were intense back then. Thelma was directing it. She really made everybody toe the line, and she got great performances out of everybody. There was only one performance for this musical revue. It started I believe in the year 2000 for the Millennium. Thelma put this thing together, so it’s been going on since 2000 at least. And I think Hans Nord is the only one left from that original cast—and he’s celebrating his 100th birthday. So he was 80 which meant he had to be 90 when I started work with him. That is so funny! The casts that I started working with, probably not too many are still here, unfortunately. Rhoda [Rice] is probably one of the few who is still here and active. We did that show with five weeks of intense rehearsals and the show Monday and Tuesday (the first week in May, I think they traditionally held it). When we got done the show I was like, I don’t want this to stop! You know, not only do you work with them musically, but you get to know them over five weeks. Really nice people. Off the top of my head, you had Phil Freeman who was a doctor. Leon Bass—he was with some of the first troops to enter Auschwitz and see the actual victims of the Holocaust, and I don’t know how he did that. Well, he never forgot that scene, and he would go around to schools and talk about the Holocaust. Now there’s a guy I wish I had gotten to know even more. And I’ll never forget, he would take on challenging songs to sing. And I said, to myself, “Jeez! He could sing an easier song!”, but he would get popular songs and do them. He had pretty contemporary musical tastes for somebody his age. I was always impressed with Leon Bass.
Marguerite Chandler 05.38
But back to you.
Kurt Martin 05:40
Okay, back to me.
Marguerite Chandler 05:41
So what happened next? You were doing this musical revue. You love the people. And then, did you get asked back?
Kurt Martin 05:51
Yeah. Alright, well, [they said], “We’ll have you back next year.” I’m thinking, “Jeez, I have to wait a whole year before I see these people again?” Then Helen Greven said, “You know what? We might be able to use you in like having a sing-a-long. I mean, we’re looking for somebody. We’ve had it stops and starts for the sing-a-long thing, and maybe we can get you involved in that. It didn’t happen right away. It might have taken a year for it to get off the ground, but Helen got the sing-a-long started. We’d meet in the Barclay Terrace every Friday, and we started to build up a repertoire. I would give her the lyrics, and she’d print them out, and then we’d hand them out. And unfortunately, Helen contracted cancer and wasn’t able to physically carry on, so she asked if somebody would carry the torch so to speak. Margaret Carlough volunteered for that. And Margaret got the binders from I think the Dollar Store. We started compiling lyrics for songs, and before we knew it, we had a really nice songbook. And then Margaret wanted to pass the torch, so Mary Smith, God bless her, she volunteered. And we have a great song book—230 to 240 songs—and our song book has all kinds of stuff, you know, and not only Broadway show tunes, but some hymns, some pop songs, some Beatles music. It’s a pretty diverse repertoire.
Mary Smith 07:51
Kurt, did you have any connection to retirement communities prior to Pennswood, either through your music or personally?
Kurt Martin 08:02
I’ve played retirement communities. I mean, that’s nothing unusual there.
Mary Smith 08:12
I was wondering if you had any preconceived ideas of what Pennswood would be like? And what things about Pennswood made it different from what you thought it might be?
Kurt Martin 08:32
I would say that most of my experience was playing for assisted living or skilled nursing wings of retirement communities as opposed to independent living. So I got to experience more of the independent living side here. And consequently, [here] I got to get to know people, because in assisted living or skilled nursing, unfortunately, a lot of times they’re in no condition to carry on a conversation, but you can see their faces light up when you play songs that they know. That’s the beautiful thing about music, if you take them back to a certain period in their life, and they start singing a song—they might not be able to hold a conversation with you, but, boy, did they know the words!
Marguerite Chandler 09:27
So what were you doing before you were here? You obviously have a full life. Did you play in schools? I mean, what was your career?
Kurt Martin 09:43
I refer to myself as a freelance musician. And I do all types of music, all kinds of events. I do events. I do restaurants. I’ve done fashion shows. I’ve done cruise line work. It’s been a very, very good career for me. And I really think that’s the part of the business that I like: there’s no time for me to get bored doing a job because the next job is going to be completely different and challenging.
Mary Smith 10:25
Do you feel that you are getting some of that variety right here at Pennswood? Or is this a little bit of a specialty, for I mean, special from the others in that it’s a different kind of entertainment than you do in other places?
Kurt Martin 10:44
Well, I mean, Pennswood does offer me variety. And that’s the beautiful thing about doing the musical revue, that I get to use my skills as a music director and as an accompanist, as opposed to Pennswood Singers where we do sing-a-long, and I basically I let the singers carry the tune.
Marguerite Chandler 11:19
Just some background. Were you trained as a musician? What’s your background?
Mary Smith 11:27
Could you start from the very beginning from when you were little? When did you feel that you were interested in music?
Kurt Martin 11:36
I was six. My uncle’s sister-in-law said, “You’re musically inclined.” And I said, “Mom, what’s this musically inclined mean?” So I guess I never forgot that I’m musically inclined. Along the way many music teachers would say, “Don’t make it your career. Keep it as a hobby.” But I ran into a math teacher that I studied advanced math with, and I told her what I was doing. I told her I was doing music full time. She said, “You made the right decision.” I’m thinking “How did she know I made the right decision?” But they must know if you go into a certain field that after trying the field that they were in, they must know that you have a special affinity for that.
Mary Smith 12:36
When did you realize that was your career?
Kurt Martin 12:41
Well, I’d say in 1978 I made the decision to go full time. But I always played, right? It wasn’t that big a transition.
Marguerite Chandler 12:55
But what were you doing before you made it a career? I mean, did you have a day job?
Kurt Martin 13:00
I had a day job for three years. But I was working so much as a musician that I would be working seven days a week, because Monday through Friday, I would have my day job, which was as an accountant, and then I’d go to work on Friday night, then to a Saturday afternoon function to a Saturday night function or a Sunday afternoon function, a Sunday night function, then go to work on Monday, and it was rough.
Mary Smith 13:35
And you did that for three years? That’s kind of a double career!
Marguerite Chandler 13:45
Sounds like [the old TV show] “I Lead Three Lives.”
Kurt Martin 13:47
TWO lives!
Mary Smith 13:57
In the end, as you came through your career, do you feel that you are continuing to discover new ways that you can apply your music to your life?
Kurt Martin 14:14
Oh, boy, that’s a pretty involved question.
Marguerite Chandler 14:22
Feel free not to answer any question that you don’t feel comfortable answering.
Kurt Martin 14:26
It’s, that’s like what a psychiatrist would ask me.
Mary Smith 14:35
Well, how about this… tell us besides being a pianist, what else have you done with what other instruments?
Kurt Martin 14:47
People say, “Oh, you must play a lot of other instruments.” I don’t. Accordion was my original instrument and piano, and basically, that’s the two instruments that I play.
Mary Smith 14:59
How about your parents? Were they into music?
Kurt Martin 15:02
They appreciated music, but neither one of them played an instrument. But they really appreciated me, and there was always music playing in the house. And I’ll never forget when we got our first stereo, and I still have the albums that my parents bought. Sometimes I’ll take them out and play them, and it takes you takes back, right? I can remember when that big Delmonico sound system TV/phonograph/radio was brought into the living room. Ya wanted to know my music background? Sorry. So I started at six, right? Playing on the accordion. And actually, that teacher, when I was six years old, that teacher went on to become one of my best friends, and I knew him for 50 years. And he passed away on my birthday. On March 5, he passed away on my birthday. Great guy. And his wife too. I mean, how many people do you know develop a relationship with their music teacher that carries on for 50 years?
Mary Smith 16:24
Did he encourage you?
Kurt Martin
Yeah!
Marguerite Chandler 16:29
And are you an only child?
Kurt Martin 16:31
No, I have a older sister.
Marguerite Chandler 16:32
So you’re the younger of two? Was she musical too or was this was sort of your niche?
Kurt Martin 16:41
She didn’t play either. It’s more like my parents; she appreciates music. She can listen to Phantom of the Opera over and over and over. I’d say, “That’s enough Phantom !” But she’d say, “I love it!”
Mary Smith 17:05
Are there any opportunities that you wish you could have here at Pennswood that you haven’t had the opportunity for yet?
Kurt Martin 17:23
I mean, anything musical here I’d love to do, and if I’m not familiar with it, it helps me grow because I’m not finished studying music. I mean, there’s so much more. I’m probably going to run out of time on this earth before I really get to learn everything I wanted to learn. I don’t know if other people feel that way in their in other occupations, but I do.
Marguerite Chandler 17:54
So you mentioned the musical revues. You do the weekly sing-a-longs. I know that you work with individual residents like Lynne Waymon.
Kurt Martin 18:00
That’s really been a fun thing to do. Lynne needed someone to back her up on a show. And then we got to rehearsing. And she has some really nice musical charts that she worked with with some teachers in Washington, DC. And they wrote some really great charts. I love playing these charts. And we’ve done a couple of cabarets, and they go over really well, because not only does she sing, but she gives you the whole history of the song: who wrote it, who recorded it, and a lot of fun stories that go with it. In fact, we have another show coming up when we get Penn Hall fixed up again. We’ll have another show. I’m looking forward to that.
Marguerite Chandler 18:50
But you also play in Woolman and Barclay here?
Kurt Martin 18:53
I do. I play averaging once a month in Barclay, and we get a nice crowd in there, and we have fun.
Marguerite Chandler 19:05
And you play in Woolman too?
Kurt Martin 19:07
I used to before COVID. They had an outbreak of COVID, so that kind of put that on the back burner. So right now, I’m just doing Barclay.
Marguerite Chandler 19:22
And to go back to Mary’s question, what is it you’d like to do here you’re not doing yet?
Kurt Martin 19:31
Well, anything that’s musical I would like to be a part of. Let’s leave it at that.
Marguerite Chandler 19:39
Okay. You play by ear? you can play in any key?
Kurt Martin 19:44
I used to play by ear, but I found it very painful, so I use my hands now.
Mary Smith 19:48
Painful? what do you mean?
Marguerite Chandler 19:51
So he uses his hands now. [laughter]
Kurt Martin 19:56
That was one of the stories that I was gonna say, “Have you said some of them are true?” Some of them are, that one’s not true. Okay.
Mary Smith 20:08
As far as regularity of your music employment, has Pennswood been the most regular part of your employment? or tell us about the other long-term arrangements that you’ve had?
Kurt Martin 20:22
Well, you know, I tend to stay at places a long time, thank God. I mean, in the 70s, I had the house band at a catering facility. In the 80s it was basically filled with freelancing into the early 90s. And then in the 90s, I started to play regularly at a cocktail lounge. One of the exciting places that I played was the Bellevue Stratford. Back in the middle 80s, the Bellevue Stratford was the place for the stars to stay (the Four Seasons had not established itself yet as the place to stay). When I’m telling you I saw stars! I saw stars!! I mean, Sophia Loren looking me right in the eye! Of course, she kept on walking, but she looked me right in the eye. Wow, that was pretty neat! [laughter]
Marguerite Chandler 21:43
Was that in New York or Philadelphia?
Kurt Martin 21:47
Philadelphia. Yes, I would say probably the place that the stars stay now is the Four Seasons– [luxury] up in the sky—but The Rittenhouse became another place where the stars stay. I was house pianist at The Rittenhouse for 26 years, and I saw a lot of big stars there.
Marguerite Chandler 22:26
You got up to the 90s. What about the 2000s?
Kurt Martin 22:30
That’s when I transitioned to restaurant work. I was at the Joseph Ambler Inn 16 1/2 years on weekends and doing other kinds of work during the week, all of it music, nothing that ventured outside of music. So it either was playing down in Liberty Place at 17th and Market in Philly during lunch, and the Lit Brothers Building Seventh and Market during lunchtime, that would be like Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Mary Smith 23:11
Well, one of the things that we enjoy here at Pennswood with you is not only your music, of course we enjoy that, but in between times you tell stories, you interact with us. Did any of your other jobs involve any kind of interaction with the people that you were entertaining?
Kurt Martin 23:36
Nothing comes to mind. Nothing like this. I mean, what kind of interaction are you talking about?
Mary Smith 23:46
Well, telling jokes, telling stories, asking us questions. encouraging us to participate as we can.
Kurt Martin 24:00
I mean, when I’m doing a show, yeah, I interact with the audience. But once again, I don’t get to know them because it’s a show. That’s one night so, you know, I don’t get to interact past that that one hour, right, like I do here.
Marguerite Chandler 24:22
Mary, do you have other questions?
Mary Smith 24:23
I think that’s pretty much it. This went faster than I thought.
But what changes in Pennswood have you observed over your time here?
Kurt Martin 24:43
Well, the physical change, I mean, the renovation, that’s the first thing that I’m seeing as I’m sitting here, and it’s funny when you do a renovation, I can’t tell you how it looked before. Funny how that works. You forget! And, of course, the sad part about being at Pennswood over this period of time is you see people, either because this is our last stop on this earth, you see them either pass away, or they have transitioned from Barclay to Woolman. And that’s kind of, I don’t know that you ever get used to that. That’s always kind of sad, especially somebody I’d developed a pretty close relationship with.
Marguerite Chandler 25:38
But if you didn’t have the relationship, you wouldn’t feel the loss.
Kurt Martin 25:46
There’s a saying like that. What is it, Marguerite?
Marguerite Chandler 25:49
Better to have loved and lost? Yes. I think all of us feel that. You know, this is the finest community I’ve ever lived in by a huge margin. The people here are extraordinary. And you don’t get to hold on to them, but, boy, what a way to go!
Mary Smith 26:20
Do you have any wishes for Pennswood in the future? As far as you see our life here? or your life with us here?
Kurt Martin 26:32
Any wishes?
Mary Smith 26:33
for the future? Any changes that you think might be beneficial for us? Or you or both together?
Kurt Martin 26:45
You mean, that youth serum that I’m developing? [laughter]
Marguerite Chandler 26:55
What about the pianos here? You know, I think there’s sort of an interesting story about the pianos that we have all these…they’re Steinways, right?
Kurt Martin 27:02
Not all Steinways, but the two Steinways that we have are fantastic, and you will be hard pressed to find two fine instruments [like these] at any retirement community. It’s really a rarity. It’s a rarity to find a good piano anywhere anymore. You could play the finest hotels. They either don’t take care of their pianos, or, at one time, it was a nice piano, and they’ve let it regress. But I mean, Pennswood is very fortunate to have two excellent pianos, and that Yamaha is not too bad either. Actually, there’s a third Steinway too. But that’s not on the par with the two concert grands that we have. And Lionel [Ruberg] does a great job of taking care of them and having a committee that takes care of them. And, rightly so, because they’re irreplaceable. You cannot afford new Steinways. They’re incredibly expensive.
Marguerite Chandler
Like how much are they worth?
Kurt Martin
Well, new, those pianos probably are in the $90,000 range.
Marguerite Chandler 28:15
The ones we have right here?!
Kurt Martin 28:19
Yeah. And then people don’t realize that; you know, they say, “How much could a piano cost?!” Hey, it’s just like Mercedes. Mercedes has built-in appreciation to their vehicles. It’s a great marketing ploy. And it seems to work. And Steinway does the same thing. They have price increases every year. And usually the Steinways hold their value.
Marguerite Chandler 28:45
Maybe we shouldn’t tell Administration. We’ll keep it a good secret.
Kurt Martin 28:53
You know, my heart was skipping a beat the [Christmas] day the sprinkler went off. Thank God that sprinkler was in the middle of the room where one piano was up at that end and the Yamaha was down at the other end, and neither one was affected by the water. They were affected by the cold air coming in because they had the doors open, but I think we managed to dodge a bullet on that.
Marguerite Chandler 29:20
Are they insured?
Kurt Martin 29:22
Good question. You know, I wouldn’t know.
Mary Smith 29:28
It’s something that I should check into.
Marguerite Chandler 29:31
Really, because I mean, we do have residents that come and bring their Steinways with them. That’s how we’ve gotten these as far as I know.
Mary Smith 29:44
Maybe you could enumerate the different jobs that you have done here in the past at Pennswood. I’m aware of most of what you have done, but I don’t know if everybody is.
Kurt Martin 29:57
So we started off with the Musical Revue. That’s one. Then second would be Pennswood Singers. Then we do Robbie Burns Night. And then people like Lynne Waymon, I do her cabaret show.
Mary Smith 30:14
And then you help out with memorial services.
Kurt Martin 30:18
I help out with memorial services—and Veterans Day; and church services when the regular organist can’t make it.
Mary Smith 30:28
Private parties…
Kurt Martin 30:30
Right, private parties.
Marguerite Chandler 30:33
Wait. I missed one: Pennswood Singers, Robbie Burns Night, memorial services, Veterans Day, Lynn Waymon’s cabaret….
Kurt Martin 30:41
The Musical Revues are number one. My entry into Pennswood with was the Musical Revue.
Marguerite Chandler 30:47
What about the Talent Shows?
Kurt Martin 30:50
The Talent Show. Steve Schnur’s talent show!
Mary Smith 30:55
Of all of those, do you have a preference?
Kurt Martin 30:59
I love the variety of everything. I don’t get bored because they’re all different.
Marguerite Chandler 31:10
The thing that I notice about you is your love of people. Your kindness and your generosity of spirit is really deeply touching to me. And that’s a gift. I mean, pianists are a dime a dozen, but pianists who have what you have, the heart that you bring, is a priceless gift.
Mary Smith 31:34
I think Helen Greven recognized that. Because we had Pennswood Singers off and on before Kurt came, and it would all go for a little while and then die off—because they didn’t have what Kurt brings.
Kurt Martin 31:53
Yes, thank my parents for that. To pass that on to me.
Mary Smith 32:01
Was your father an entertainer of any kind? I think you said he was a Master of Ceremonies. Maybe I was dreaming that I thought you said that. It’s some events. He was master of ceremonies. told jokes.
Kurt Martin 32:16
No. Oh, he told jokes. Some of them I still use.
Marguerite Chandler 32:24
Hearing a joke is one thing, but you remember them. One other thing that you didn’t put down here was Christmas Eve. Was that a new occasion? Or Christmas caroling or whatever you called it?
Kurt Martin 32:41
Well, what we did this past Christmas was really different from the previous ones. I’m trying to remember how we started with that. Once again, I’m thinking how you can thank Helen, who got the Thanksgiving and the Christmas week Sing-a-longs started.
Marguerite Chandler 33:09
Do you do the Thanksgiving event too?
Kurt Martin 33:12
Yeah, we used to do Thanksgiving Eve, we would have readings and music and alternate for an hour. And then Christmas Eve. We’ve had so many different iterations of that, in fact, we were looking for the song sheets for Christmas, right? I have come across six different song books that we’ve used. So which one do you want to print? Oh, this one’s good. I just found a better one. We have six of them. So I don’t know which one we’ll use the next time.
Mary Smith 33:47
But one thing that we wanted to do this year, and then Kurt had COVID and wasn’t able to come, but we wanted to do Oktoberfest with Kurt on the accordion. And that was supposed to have happened this year, but it did but not with Kurt, so I’m looking forward to that.
Marguerite Chandler
You have this Oktoberfest on your calendar already?!
Kurt Martin 34:11
Yeah, that was a bummer. Because Mary and I sold the idea to the Pennswood Administration, and then I got the bug, and I had to cancel.
Marguerite Chandler 34:33
But we still had the event? I don’t remember who it was who was playing, but it wasn’t you.
Mary Smith 34:41
Right. I think he was an experienced accordion player, and I know he did several other Oktoberfests. And Kurt did other Oktoberfests this year outside of Pennswood.
Kurt Martin 34:57
Well, I have to show off my legs somewhere you know. [laughter]
Marguerite Chandler 35:01
Do you have special lederhosen? Yeah? Great. So what did we not ask you that you’d like to tell us?
Kurt Martin 35:18
I think I’ve bored you enough. People are gonna go, “Is he done yet?”
Marguerite Chandler
Do you have children?
Kurt Martin
I have a daughter. A 22-year old.
Mary Smith 35:35
She’s special. You have to tell us. Mention how special she is.
Kurt Martin 35:43
She’s special.
Mary Smith 35:46
But she’s a dancer. Tell us where she’s going to school and what she’s doing at school.
Kurt Martin 35:54
She’s going to Wilkes University, and she’s majoring in musical theater with a minor in dance, and she loves dance. She actually did Damn Yankees at Newtown Arts… is that four years ago now? Three or four years ago, she was Lola in Damn Yankees.
Mary Smith 36:19
Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets!
Kurt Martin 36:23
At the time, she was, and at 19 she’s playing a seductress! I don’t know if I like it! [laughter]
Marguerite Chandler 36:31
And you’re married with the wife of how many years?
Kurt Martin 36:39
24 years.
Marguerite Chandler 36:45
Does your wife ever come here?
Kurt Martin 36:48
They’ve been invited. Both Olivia and Ruth have come to the Musical Revues.
Marguerite Chandler 36:54
Your wife is Ruth. And Olivia is your daughter?
Mary Smith 37:02
And tell her about what Ruth does in the theater.
Kurt Martin 37:06
Ruth is living out her avocation, doing costumes for local theater.
Marguerite Chandler 37:18
She’s a costume designer?
Kurt Martin 37:21
And she loves it.
Marguerite Chandler 37:26
With what local theaters?
Kurt Martin 37:30
She’s done Newtown Arts. She’s done Mercer County Community College which is the Kelsey Theatre. She’s doing Pennsbury High School right now. I want to say there’s one more…..
Mary Smith 37:49
That one on River Road.
Kurt Martin 37:54
I forget what it’s called.. The Actor’s Net!
Marguerite Chandler 38:01
If she does costumes for the Newtown Theatre costumes, she’s really good.
Kurt Martin 38:07
I don’t think she does every show—but whoever’s producing the show, if they know her, they’ll ask for her. The last show I had costumes all over the house.
Marguerite Chandler 38:19
Does she make them herself?
Kurt Martin 38:23
She basically takes them and does all alterations and whatever they need to have done.
Mary Smith 38:31
And you won’t recognize her name on the program.
Marguerite Chandler 38:34
She has a different last name?
Kurt Martin 38:38
Yes, my last name is not Martin, Okay? So don’t call her Mrs. Martin. She gets that a lot. Mrs. Martin.
Marguerite Chandler 38:49
So what’s your real last name?
Kurt Martin 38:50
My full name is Kurt Martin Schanbacher.
Marguerite Chandler 38:54
SeanBakker??
Kurt Martin 38:59
B-A-C-H-E-R. My dad decided, since he had so many problems with his last name, when I was going into music, he says, “Let’s just call you Kurt Martin. It’s easy enough to spell, right?
Marguerite Chandler 39:18
Everybody can remember it. Pronounce it
Kurt Martin 39:21
People call me Martin, right? Now I’m Kurt Martin ever since then. I was just fine with it. So I’m Kurt Martin. Except when I’m not.
Marguerite Chandler 39:36
Except with the IRS…
Kurt Martin 39:39
Yeah, you know it’s funny. I’ll fill out a W-9 I had the same problem here filling out the W-9 and accounting will get a notice from the IRS that the records don’t jive, you know, so they’ll call me and say what’s wrong with this? I’ll say, “You’re using Kurt Martin. You should use Kurt Martin Schanbacher, and then “doing business as Kurt Martin.”
Marguerite Chandler 40:07
I was formerly an accountant too.
Kurt Martin 40:12
I knew there was something I liked about you!
Marguerite Chandler 40:13
Very boring.
Kurt Martin 40:18
That’s why I did music.
Mary Smith 40:21
Do people from the community and the church, do they call you Kurt Martin?
Kurt Martin 40:29
However they’re more comfortable, believe it or not, even though I feel at church and in the community, I want to be Kurt Schanbacher. If they’re more comfortable just writing down Kurt Martin, it’s Ok with me.
Marguerite Chandler 40:41
In the church services here or in other churches?
Mary Smith 40:47
His own church…
Kurt Martin 40:48
okay. You know, around the neighborhood or whatever. Yeah.
Marguerite Chandler 40:54
So you substitute here.
Mary Smith 40:59
That substitution here just started recently. Have you always done that?
Kurt Martin 41:05
Herb had me. So when they had Alice Cohen, no. Forget her name. Fran Jerome, I think they had me fill in a couple of times. Okay. On the piano, but not on the Organ. And they say, “Well, can you play the organ instead?” I can play Organ, but I’m not an organist. So, you know, unless you want to let me you know, practice on it so I can get used to it. Because every organ is different. You really want to feel comfortable. Yeah. I mean, you can sit down and play it. But it sounds better if you know what you’re doing. And as far as the stops and…
Marguerite Chandler 41:55
I wonder where we got the organ? You know, somebody must have donated it.
Mary Smith 41:57
I don’t know. I don’t know that I was here.
Marguerite Chandler 42:01
Well, anything else?
Kurt Martin 42:10
It’s still recording?
Marguerite Chandler 42:14
We did about 45 minutes.
Kurt Martin 42:19
It’s 42 minutes.
Marguerite Chandler 42:20
What do you think!
Mary Smith 42:22
What was your biggest challenge here?
Marguerite Chandler 42:25
There’s a good question.
Kurt Martin 42:40
Living up to Thelma Neufeld’s expectations.
Mary Smith 42:44
That’s a good answer, because she did have high expectations. And for the most part, people met them too. They did their best.
Kurt Martin 42:54
For a person who really has no background in music, she is fantastic. She knows what she wants. And she knows how to get it out of people. Amazing!
Marguerite Chandler 43:10
I think people were afraid of her.
Kurt Martin 43:13
Isn’t that funny? Yeah, it’s funny, she would demand it from you. But guess what? She was able to get it out of you. And I thought, I can’t do that. I couldn’t be like that. Yeah. But she has a marvelous way. She just has the right personality to do that.
Marguerite Chandler 43:31
Well, I don’t know. I think people like working with you better. Yeah, I mean, there is an enormous generosity of spirit here for people who perform, no matter how people perform. People love to see their fellow residents. And there’s just something about that experience that we were touched by right away, that if people were willing to get up and perform, we were willing to show up and be enthusiastically supportive. So I think this is a great audience to play to–but for people to feel really seen and valued and not intimidated.
Kurt Martin 44:17
I would love to see the Musical Revue continue. Can we continue that without somebody like Thelma telling people you’re doing this and you’re doing that? I don’t know.
Marguerite Chandler 44:36
Well, like seeing Hans Nord do “Cellophane.”
Mary Smith 44:41
Mr. Cellophane, was that it?
Marguerite Chandler 44:46
I mean, of all the people in the entire Pennswood that I would think would not do Mr. Cellophane, it would be Hans Nord. And he did it several times at least.
Kurt Martin 44:56
That and the South American Way.
Mary Smith 45:02
Then he had a big hat like Carmen Miranda.
Kurt Martin 45:07
I don’t know if that was selling American wine?
Marguerite Chandler 45:12
Well, I think we got a wrap here. What I will do is, as I said, have this printed out, you will get a chance to see how it looks. I will probably make some errors because between my notes and the transcription, there will be errors, but you can fix them. And then we’ll see what we’ve got. Great! And thank you for taking this time.
Kurt Martin 45:40
Thank you. It was fun. I hope I didn’t bore you too much.
Marguerite Chandler 45:48
I don’t think you know how to be boring. I really don’t!
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