No timed training can rival the quiet, relentless rhythm of a life steeped in music. When the piano lives in the corner of the living room; when your mother is a trained pianist whose fingers dance across the keys with the same ease as her words of encouragement; when melodies are the language of your household; then music isn’t something you learn, it’s something you become. That kind of training doesn’t fade. It matures. It deepens. And even at 91, you don’t retire from it, you carry it forward, lively as ever, because it’s never been a performance. It’s always been home.
That said, our September Personality of the Month simply has to be Margot Dennis. She has been at the helm of The Marden Singers for an astonishing 62 years. Think about it – she founded the choir at just 28 years old, and she’s still going strong. That’s music lived, not just made. And the legacy doesn’t stop with her. Margot’s daughter Roz Ribeiro, a celebrated soprano, and her grandson, Lucas, have both stepped onto the stage, proving that in the Dennis family, music isn’t just inherited, it’s embodied.
Margot is a true ‘classics’ girl; if it were up to her, classical music would still be taught with the same reverence it once had, but today’s world moves too fast, makes too much noise, and pushes too hard, leaving little room for the quiet discipline of timeless art. According to her, the most challenging part of the journey has always been the administration. Just imagine the pressure of ensuring every detail is executed flawlessly, from scheduling rehearsals to teaching the intricate connection between vocal projection and the muscular system. What’s remarkable is this: singers are taught how to project sound so powerfully that it can bounce off the wall and fill a room—no microphone needed.
Margot is currently preparing for this year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, scheduled for the 15th and 16th of November. Audiences can expect a beautiful fusion of artistic disciplines, brought together in one powerful celebration. The oratorio itself is composed entirely of scriptural text, drawn exclusively from the King James Version of the Bible.
After our conversation, two things Margot said stayed with me. First, she reminded me that we all need doors opened for us; without those opportunities, none of us would be doing what we do today. Second, when asked why she continues, her answer was simple yet profound: because it’s necessary to express ourselves in the way we’ve been taught, in the way we’ve been trained.
