To whom it may concern:

In 2005, I hired Joel Sindelar to be a director for a small singing group I had started up called "Sweet Charities". The group had a spring session and a Christmas session in which we learned 7 to 8 songs and then sang at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston City Hospital, and CAP (Children with Aids). The group consisted of 7 to 10 women (depending upon the session), who sang Alto I, II, and Soprano I. Joel did an excellent job of taking a group of amateurs and bringing them to a point where they not only could perform but were very well received. In fact, we were invited back the next year. Everyone enjoyed Joel's knowledge, patience, and sense of humor. His musical talent was excellent. Not only did he lead the group but he also created CD's of each part to help with our learning outside of rehearsals. In addition, he even arranged a wonderful version of White Christmas for the group. "Sweet Charities" has since disbanded due to other commitments but if we were to start up again, I would hire Joel to be our director.

Sincerely,

Barbara Ryerson
Founder and Manager, Sweet Charities

Joel Sindelar is a fantastic choral director. I have both hired him to sing with my own professional group, and sung in his community choir. As a singer, Joel has great tuning, musicality, and tone quality, and is a joy to work with. As a director, Joel ranks among the best. I have sung with both professional and community choirs, including the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. When directing, Joel is musical and friendly, motivated and understanding; rehearsals with Joel are enjoyable and efficient. Any church or community choir would be fortunate to have his energy and talent.

Yours,

Anna Callahan
Founder and Manager, Caroling Ambrosia

To Whom it May Concern -

I was a member of the New England Conservatory Camerata for eight years. When I joined, Joel was the assisitant conductor working under Lorna Cooke DeVaron. We worked with Joel when, for health reasons, Lorna was unable to be there. One year that meant pretty much the whole semester, leading up to our annual concert at Jordan Hall.

Joel is a fabulous choral conductor. He is motivating and fun, yet at the same time he has very high musical standards. I've sung with many conductors since the early '70s and Joel was by far my favorite. He understood that our body is our instrument and that our body must be warmed up properly (using yoga and other methods) and relaxed to perform optimally. He was positive to work with and helped keep us relaxed even when we were working on very difficult music. Everyone in NEC Camerata hoped that Joel would be hired when Lorna retired, but that didn't happen.

Please feel free to call me if you have any further questions. My number is 617 244 1027

Karen Parsons

To Whom it May Concern:

Joel Sindelar directed our thirteen-member a capella group SWEET CHARITIES for the fall season in 2005. He was a terrific director, providing leadership, excellent physical and vocal warm ups and intricate, exciting arrangements for our group. He provided the serious leadership and discipline we needed but also made it so much fun each week. We all really looked forward to our practices and worked hard. We produced a polished sound as a result of our practices after only 3 months. We tried other directors since and really broke down as a group to the point where the group is defunct at present. We really miss Joel and would start up the group again if he were to be able to direct it again. Joel is a very effective leader and a highly talented musician.

Sincerely,

Hope H. Swift
SWIFT YACHT CHARTERS "&" VILLAS LLC
209 South Main Street
Sherborn, Ma 01770
Phone (508) 647-1554
Fax (508) 647-1556
WEBSITE: www.swiftyachts.com

Joel,

I wanted to share with you some of the experiences I have encountered while singing at Christmas time. I've participated in the Caroling Mob twice, and on the second time I brought an old friend and his girlfriend. Now his girlfriend happens to be the sister of my girlfriend, and my old friend and his girlfriend just got engaged which now makes my old friend my brother-in-law, which is strange but clearly beside the point. Anyways, his girlfriend is a very shy person amongst big crowds, and would never think of opening her mouth to sing in public. We basically had to drag her to the first meeting spot of the Mob, telling her that if she hates singing that much, we'd all leave after giving it a try. Three hours later we were all tired and wanted to stop but she was urging us to continue on and sing until the very end.

Needless to say she must have felt very comfortable with some part of the dynamics of the Mob. Perhaps it was because you were really nurturing to every single person that was there, helping people find they're spot without being demanding or expecting. Or perhaps it was because you instinctly knew when to move on or when to stop and let us sing our hearts out to the totally unexpected and overly joyed listeners. Remember when we went into the JP Project Housing and we sang to about 25 people listening to us in the cold out on their porches, and the one gentleman came down and told us that "this is what Christmas is really about".

Or perhaps my friend just had straight up fun. It's really important to let go and hear yourself sing, even if you don't have a classically trained voice or even if you think that you have the worst voice in the whole wide world. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all had a lot of fun singing with you and I'd definitely do it again, soon.

Shawn Morrissey