Our History

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On a Sunday in the fall of 1970, a nurse from Phelps Hospital named Ruth Buzalski attended a service at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Scarborough. After the service she asked the organist if he would be willing to volunteer to direct a group of hospital workers and volunteers in a small chorale. Their conversation was the official beginning of the Old Mill Singers.

On a Tuesday evening, shortly after this meeting, the group that was to become the Old Mill Singers met for the first time. There were eight people. Over the next several weeks, this small group prepared a short Christmas program to be performed for the staff party at Phelps and for the patients. After the holiday season, Leroy Brown, the hospital administrator, suggested that the group continue to try to grow. A recruitment drive began and in late January, the group began rehearsing for a spring concert. Over the spring, the group grew to 25 members, and in May 1971, The Phelps Arts Society presented its first public concert. During the next few years, the group grew to more than 30 singers and performed two public concerts a year.

In 1974, North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hollow), celebrated its bicentennial, and the Phelps Arts Society was asked to prepare the centerpiece show for the celebration. For this special event, the group grew to over 50 members and “A Dutch Treat” was presented on three nights to a combined audience of 1600 people. The desire to be a more community-oriented organization led the group to change its name to the Old Mill Singers, a nod to a local landmark. In addition to performing two concerts a year, the group wanted to reach out to nursing homes and special care facilities in the various communities represented by the members.

Since 1974, the group has grown in numbers, with many members from surrounding communities. We do our primary fund-raising through our Winter and Spring public concerts and through membership dues. We also perform mini concerts throughout the year for nursing homes, retirement communities as well as special community functions.

The group is dedicated to several basic ideals: community service, our community within the chorus, having fun, and learning new and challenging music. We view ourselves as a very open group in that the only requirement for membership is the ability to sing in tune. More than seventy percent of our members do not read music. We have come a long way since the very beginning and will continue to grow.