{"id":32572,"date":"2016-10-21T12:39:22","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T18:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=32572"},"modified":"2016-10-21T12:39:22","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T18:39:22","slug":"oh-my-gawd-janice-from-friends-is-a-choir-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/oh-my-gawd-janice-from-friends-is-a-choir-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh. My. Gawd. Janice from &#8216;Friends&#8217; is a choir director."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>By DOUGLAS GLADSTONE<\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_8823147407414287725gmail-p1\">(JTA) \u2014 Ask actress Maggie Wheeler what her most iconic character \u2014\u00a0that would be Janice Hosenstein Litman Goralnik from &#8220;Friends&#8221; \u2014 would say about her\u00a0current &#8220;role&#8221; as a choir director and, well:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32574\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32574\" class=\"wp-image-32574 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"magemile copy 3\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-1024x725.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/212;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32574\" class=\"wp-image-32574 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"magemile copy 3\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/magemile-copy-3-1024x725.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-32574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Wheeler, right, and Emile Hassan Dyer are the co-founders of the Golden Bridge Community Choir in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Wheeler) Choir June 2013-3538<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_8823147407414287725gmail-p1\">&#8220;Oh. My. Gawd,&#8221; she&#8217;d say \u2014 intoning her signature phrase with her famously nasal voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_8823147407414287725gmail-p1\">As it happens, however,\u00a0Wheeler&#8217;s voice sounds nothing like the beloved, braying &#8220;Friends&#8221; regular.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_8823147407414287725gmail-p1\">\u201cMusic has been my soul food,\u201d Wheeler, 55, told JTA. &#8220;I&#8217;ve always loved gospel music and spirituals and the music of Africa.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_8823147407414287725gmail-p1\">Wheeler is a founder and director of Los Angeles&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goldenbridgechoir.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Golden Bridge Community Choir<\/a>, an inclusive, non-auditioned choir. Golden Bridge is a\u00a0member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ubuntuchoirs.net\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Ubuntu Choirs Network<\/a>, an international organization\u00a0of socially engaged choirs that embrace that &#8220;singing is an essential human birthright&#8221; and together, regardless of musical background, individuals can help improve the world by joining voices in song.<\/p>\n<p>Ubuntu, Wheeler explained, is a term from Southern Africa that means &#8220;human kindness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;The spirit of Ubuntu is about sharing a bond,&#8221; she said. &#8220;On a personal level, the Golden Bridge Community Choir aims to connect people by joining their voices in song.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">It&#8217;s an ideology that resonates deeply with Wheeler. Quoting from\u00a0Simon Jacobson&#8217;s book &#8220;Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson,&#8221; Wheeler noted\u00a0that &#8220;every human being, man and woman, was created for the same purpose &#8212; to fuse body and soul in order to make themselves and their world a better and holier place.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Wheeler, who was born Margaret Jakobson,\u00a0was raised in a secular Jewish household\u00a0in Manhattan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;My siblings and I grew up in a creative home full of eclectic influences,&#8221;\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32573\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32573\" class=\"wp-image-32573 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Choir June 2013-3538 copy 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2.jpg 1350w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32573\" class=\"wp-image-32573 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Choir June 2013-3538 copy 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Choir-June-2013-3538-copy-2.jpg 1350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-32573\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Wheeler leading the non-auditioned choir in 2013. (Courtesy of Wheeler)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Her choir reflects that:\u00a0In addition to gospel, they do songs and rhythms from around the world, including\u00a0West and South Africa, Australia and Asia. (Proceeds from the choir&#8217;s concerts support orphanages in South Africa.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">One of the standards in the choir&#8217;s repertoire is &#8220;The Contemplation Chant,&#8221; by Sophia Roberts, aka Sophia Songhealer. According to Wheeler, it is an uplifting, spiritual psalm that incorporates the lyrics and melodies from five religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;But I don&#8217;t select songs based on any one religion,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I scour the world for music that strikes me at some kind of emotional level, that touches my heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cMusic provides an opportunity for people to come together and create something beautiful,&#8221; she added. &#8220;When that occurs, there\u2019s a profound, deep connection made. The power of song is transformational.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Of course, what has also been transformational in Wheeler&#8217;s life was landing the Janice role on &#8220;Friends,&#8221; whom she portrayed 19 times during the show&#8217;s 10-year run.\u00a0Wheeler told JTA\u00a0she \u201chad no sense&#8221; that\u00a0her character would have such an enduring impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the middle of things, while you\u2019re filming, you just don\u2019t think like that,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m just thrilled that the writers and our audience loved her so much.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cJanice has been very good to me,\u201d Wheeler added. \u201cI am so glad people connected with her.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32575\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32575\" class=\"wp-image-32575 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-300x277.jpg\" alt=\"Maggie headshot 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"277\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-1024x946.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-160x147.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2.jpg 1949w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/277;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32575\" class=\"wp-image-32575 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-300x277.jpg\" alt=\"Maggie headshot 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-1024x946.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2-160x147.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Maggie-headshot-2.jpg 1949w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-32575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Wheeler is most famous for her recurring role as Janice on the sitcom &#8220;Friends.&#8221; (Courtesy of Wheeler)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">But while\u00a0film and television work is what she is best known for \u2014 she&#8217;s also had recurring roles on &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2015\/09\/20\/arts-entertainment\/sampling-the-globe-with-the-funnyman-creator-of-everybody-loves-raymond\" target=\"_blank\">Everybody Loves Raymond<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;Californication,&#8221; among others\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s only one of the ways Wheeler enjoys connecting with others. Her lifelong love of singing is another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">She&#8217;s been singing\u00a0since the age of 7, when her parents began sending her to Camp Killooleet in Vermont. Owned and operated by the legendary folk singer Pete Seeger\u2019s brother, John, Wheeler said the camp was inspirational.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cSitting around campfires and singing songs was a piece of heaven for me,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Wheeler has also been passionate about a cappella music since her early 20s, when she met members of the\u00a0ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock while seeking refuge during a rainstorm at an outdoor music festival.\u00a0Finding shelter in the group\u2019s tent, Wheeler and others were introduced to the power of song.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cIt was a life-changing moment for me,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThe energy in that tent just exponentially grew and grew. It was like we were raising the roof.\u00a0It was at that moment that I first felt what the power of singing could do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Wheeler and some friends eventually founded a New York-based\u00a0a cappella group, Sons and Daughters. But\u00a0as her acting career inevitably took her to Los Angeles, Wheeler had to leave the group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">\u201cThat void in my life put me on the path I\u2019m on now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">(Even in Hollywood, however, there were occasions when\u00a0she could tap into her passion \u2014 like when her friend, actor David Duchovny, asked her to arrange and perform an a cappella version of \u201cMichael, Row the Boat Ashore\u201d for an episode of &#8220;The X-Files.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Make no mistake, Wheeler is still passionate about acting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;Being a professional actress is akin to being a professional gambler,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I love my acting work, but I don&#8217;t have any control over how often I work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve been on a roller coaster as an actress throughout my whole career. What sustains me is my other creative outlet &#8212; my music.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">In addition to Golden Bridge, Wheeler and choir co-founder Emile Hassan Dyer teach musical workshops, \u201cSinging in the Stream,\u201d with the aim to &#8220;open hearts and bring us closer to understanding our interpersonal and global connections,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">Wheeler has been married to her husband, Daniel \u2014 an award-winning sculptor with an affinity toward ceremonial objects and spaces \u2014 for 26 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;As a couple, we&#8217;re both involved and invested in creating spaces for people to express themselves,&#8221; she said proudly. &#8220;He with his art and me with my music.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">They are also the\u00a0parents of two daughters, ages 16 and 21.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">There is clearly a lot more to Wheeler than meets the eye (or ear). She&#8217;s not only a double threat \u2014 a singer and an actor \u2014 but she actively encourages others to follow their own dreams and journey on their own paths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gmail-m_-4958133817283443492gmail-p1\">&#8220;I love this Balzac quote that was shared with me at a pivotal moment,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201c&#8217;Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn&#8217;t, bleed like colors on the whole of our existence.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Oh.%20My.%20Gawd.%20Janice%20from%20%27Friends%27%20is%20a%20choir%20director.\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7139],"tags":[8137,8790,8795,8136,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32576,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32572\/revisions\/32576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}