In Loving Memory . . .
Rosie Bennington
Rosie was a teacher in the Denver Public schools for 30 years as a music teacher and librarian. She retired in 1988. Rosie was a vital member of the Denver Women's Chorus from 1985-1991 as an assistant accompanist and Alto I singer. Her musical contributions were great, but her greatest contribution was the way she accepted death and helped the chorus to do so too.
Rosie's death in August 1991 was not unexpected after one and a half years of battling cancer. Pushing herself through the chorus' New York trip singing at the Lincoln Center June 28th & 29th, Rosie sang in all performances. She participated in the 4 1/2 mile Pride march and stayed a few extra days to see some Broadway plays. She died August 1st.
Rosie's legacy in the chorus lives on. You may notice a stuffed kangaroo on stage at any given chorus concert who we've affectionately named Rosie Roo, which was Rosie's nickname. Rosie Roo wears a pink scarf made of the shirt Rosie always wore at chorus concerts. There is also a Rosie Bennington Memorial Endowment Fund which any person may contribute to by calling the chorus at 303.274.4177 or by simply mailing a check with the endowment fund noted in the memo section to:
Denver Women's Chorus
PO Box 2638
Denver, CO 80202
We all miss Rosie greatly, but continue to honor her ongoing presence in the chorus.
Candace Weinrich Dinardi
Those of you who attended our Fire and Ice Concert in Fall of 1999 or own a copy of the chorus CD Where I Live have heard Candace Dinardi's sensitive work as an accompanist. The piano was one of her first loves. In her personal description in the Fire and Ice program she described herself as begging her mother for piano lessons at the age of four, and performing since she was twelve. She also noted that she "enjoys accompanying musicians more than anything else she does." Certainly no reminiscences about Candace could leave out her love and boundless interest for music. She loved Bach and jazz and Broadway show tunes. She played in orchestras, choirs and combos, including her own small jazz group "Lost Souls," which played in local clubs. She enjoyed working with young musicians by teaching piano and directing amateur musicals.
But she was a woman of many facets. Tall and strikingly attractive, Candace loved to shop for clothes and jewelry and get dressed to the nines. She also had a wacky sense of humor that showed in everything from the name of her combo to her leisure time: she belonged to a group that did filking-no misspelling-an activity printable but possibly subversive that consists of getting together with friends to make up humorous songs and parodies. Few people who met her casually would have guessed she was also a trained software engineer who said once that when she was programming she could lose herself in it the way people can be lost in music. And few people would have guessed that this gifted and vital woman battled the constant pain of fybromyalgia for several years.
Some of her keenest interests came from living with this disease, including her study of Eastern philosophers and the practice of yoga. She found Buddhist writings particularly helpful in reaching spiritual peace in the midst of her physical pain. She was as adept at yoga as she was accompanying-and chorus members were able to verify both skills. When Candace was chorus accompanist, she would stay limber and relaxed by doing headstands and stretches in the intervals she wasn't playing, with only the startling apparition of a upraised foot or leg over the high back of the old upright piano to show that she was still at the bench.
She loved to travel and traveled widely from her hometown of Westchester, Pennsylvania, to California, to Colorado, to a final resting place in Montana: Candace lost her struggle with fybromyalgia in early August of 2001.
In her last few years, she found a spiritual and emotional home in Colorado at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Littleton, where she was a well-loved and active member. Her memorial service at the church was a joyful celebration of a full life, featuring her favorite music played by her friends and sharing of memories. A singer who worked with Candace told a story about performing an extremely difficult song with her and being unhappy with his performance. "I don't think it was very good," he told her, hoping for reassurance. "No," she said, "But it was fun to do-and that's what really matters."
Donations can be made in Candace's name to:
CFIDS Emergency Relief Services
4714 Northwood Lake Drive East
Northport, Alabama 35473
CFIDS provides assistance and financial support to people disabled by Chronic Fatigue, Immune Dysfunction Syndrome and Fybromyalgia.