Songwriter and singer Billy Joel once opined that music is an explosive expression of humanity.

For Beth Whitney-Teeple and the other singers comprising the South Sound Threshold Singers Chapter, his thought on the power of music is very real.

"We're all just walking each other back home," she quoted Ram Dass, an American spiritual teacher.

She knows; in 2011 she and her sister sang to their father as he crossed the threshold from life into eternity.

After a trip to the Midwest where she learned of the Threshold Choirs, she and another woman started the South Sound Threshold Singers Chapter in 2015.

They wanted to be of service to those on the threshold of life and the beyond.

"We sing as a desire to give; and we share our love of music," continued Whitney-Teeple, an Air Force veteran.

Kate Munger founded the Threshold Choir in 2000 in El Cerrito, California. Today, the choir's chapters are active in over 150 communities nationwide.

There are 21 chapters in the Pacific Northwest.

"We sing at bedsides and chair sides to the ill and dying, primarily the dying," continued Whitney-Teeple.

"Our actions are a desire to give; and we share our love of music."

An a capella choir, the South Sound Threshold Singers is comprised mostly of women.

"We would love to have more singers; there are no auditions," continued Whitney-Teeple.

"Work with us in blending your voice in service."

For those interested in joining, the group will host an Open House at the Mountain View Funeral Home Jan. 26th.

The singers select songs in response to the musical tastes, spiritual traditions and needs to those they serve.

"We sing what people want," Whitney-Teeple continued.  "We are non-denominational."

The songs are generally soothing, repetitive and gentle in nature.

The choir's sense of comfort honors the ancient tradition of holding space for any person in need of a healing and comforting song.

Whitney-Teeple said that through the choir's songs, it offers presence, care and support to those who are on the threshold between the here-and-now and the unknown.

The choir rehearses twice a month at Mountain View.  The group varies from half-a-dozen to a dozen-and-a-half singers, with a core group of 10.

"We welcome all singers," said Whitney-Teeple, "and Mountain View has been very, very good to us with giving us a place to practice."

Twice a month the choir sings to the veterans in the Community Living Center at the Veterans Administration at American Lake.

"We sing at a memorial service every six months for those who have passed," added Whitney-Teeple.

The choir also sings in private homes, care facilities and hospitals in Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup and surrounding communities.

Whitney-Teeple also said that family members and caregivers are instrumental in contacting the choir to sing and that all requests are welcome.

"The best part of this is the people who gather to do this, to sing and to be of service to others."

For more information, visit thresholdchoir.org or email southsound@thresholdchoir.com.