How the Vocal Majority was a Turning Point

When the curtain opened to our 2017 show, the Vocal Majority gave Elaine and Ronnie Plotkin “a complete sense of peace.”

The Plotkins have experienced a pandemic very personally. The H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic in 2009 took the life of their 18-year-old son, Raymond, who was a freshman at the University of New Mexico.

A few years ago, the Plotkins, who are from Houston, Texas, became involved in The Compassionate Friends, an international support organization of parents, grandparents and adult siblings who have lost a child, grandchild or sibling. During a TCF annual conference in Dallas they were inspired when they heard Vocal Majority singing songs of comfort and encouragement.

In 2017, Elaine and Ronnie heard that the Vocal Majority’s holiday show theme was “North Side Story,” featuring Elves and Penguins having a sing-off in a fun, updated version of the Jets versus the Sharks from “West Side Story.” Because Raymond’s favorite animal was the penguin, they took this as a sign of Raymond’s presence. So they entered VM’s “Be Our Guest” program where we bring people to see our show in-person, and they were selected to be in our audience.

Elaine says that seeing our holiday show “was a wonderful sense of peace and being uplifted ... all that anxiety just went away.”

In her words, it was a turning point for them to enjoy music again. And now, Elaine says, “it is wonderful you’re doing this concert virtually because we need this now more than ever.”

We completely agree. Please watch this video of Elaine’s and Ronnie’s heartfelt story about how the Vocal Majority has enriched their lives, and how Vocal Majority can be life changing for you during this year of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to reserve your free admission to our 2020 Virtual Show on December 12. Get the details and register here.