SALISBURY — Wanna sing?

Those who enjoy singing a cappella harmony have a new outlet for it, as they can join a group being formed that is meeting for its first season on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. at Art & Soul Rowan, 207 W. Harrison St., Salisbury.

Ester Wensink of Salisbury, who has been trained in music, is organizing the group, which she has named Wanna Sing. She wants to make it as inclusive as possible and focus on harmony and rounds and multi-vocal pieces with voices blending together, which are her favorites, she said.

When Wensink and her husband moved to Salisbury two and a half years ago, she started looking for a choir to sing with as she missed the “experience of singing the harmony and listening and blending your voices.” 

And while she found a “really cool choir in Winston-Salem,” the distance was a hindering factor.

Classically trained, she has sung in choirs in New Orleans, Belgium and the Netherlands, plus she was a music teacher in Belgium and has acquired lots of sheet music from songs that she sang.

Therefore, Wensink said she thought, “Why don’t I start to look for people that want to sing those old songs with me.”

She noted that she has songs both in her head, along with a collection of sheet music from Germany and Italy, plus Israeli songs and American-English folk traditional old songs, “that I would just really like to sing again.”

After returning to the Netherlands for vacation and a time to get back to things she said she really cares about, she decided she would “just have to start something myself” when it came to singing. She didn’t want to sing in a big choir but just wanted to sing those songs she knew. During the time that the Wensinks moved to Salisbury, she said that Arts & Soul Rowan caught their attention and noted that they offer some music there as they have monthly drum circles; therefore, she decided to email the local art center and share what she wanted to do.

“I just want to start singing the songs that I knew and other people can bring songs too,” she said. “It’s just bring songs and sing. That’s all there is to it.”

She contacted Andria Porter, the center’s executive director, who, in turn, reached out to the board, and both of them liked the idea.

It is now in the stage where on Sept. 9, “we have our first session, and I’m starting to talk to people about it to see if there is any interest,” Wensink said. “So, I’m excited, and we’re just gonna see.”

In coming up with the name for the group, she said the name is simple and just wanted to express what it says and let people know they can come no matter if they read music or not. 

“If they can keep a tone, that’s fine,” she said, plus “my name is Wensink, that kind of goes with wanna sing. Wanna sing with Wensink. I thought it kind of went together,” she said with a smile.

Sept. 9 will be the time when she will learn of interest in being a part of the group, she said, which is free and open to all that wants to sing, meeting every Monday at 7 p.m. There are no auditions for the group and no age restrictions except to say that those younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent, she said.

Wensink also stressed that it would be a cappella and that while she could play the piano a little bit, she would not be accompanying them, and there would not be any other music to accompany the group. But she would supply the lyrics to the songs, and for those who read music, she would supply the music and lyrics.

If people that attend have a song they want to bring, they are welcome to do so, she added.

“The only thing is, it has to be harmony,” she said. 

Wensink expressed her thanks to those at the center and, in particular, Porter for allowing her to be there.

Porter, in turn, welcomed the new group as she said, “Art & Soul Rowan is pleased to announce ‘Wanna Sing?’ This is the newest program among the many art programs that we offer the community,” said Porter.

For more information about all of the programs, she encouraged people to visit the website at www.artandsoulrowan.com, find them on Facebook or email her at andria@artandsoulrowan.com. 

Wensick said she hopes people are not shy and will come, noting that she believes there are “a huge amount of benefits from meeting other people,” including doing something artsy, cognitively as people memorize and sing, and socially as they come together and blend their voices.

As for her personally, Wensink said that, “singing makes me feel good. It’s just a fun thing to do. It’s art.”