Phil Fretz

"When Fay Jacobs wrote an article for Letters asking for participants for a CAMP Chorus, I was likely the first or second to write back!"

Phil Fretz: Bass

For a kid who grew up in a semi-rural area northwest of Philadelphia, Phil has an amazing story to tell. Phil grew up in a time and place where school-sponsored weekly Bible studies were the norm, and the population was 99% white Protestant. But after a spending his junior year in college at the University of London, his first overseas adventure, Phil was hooked. After graduating from Haverford College, he joined the Peace Corps and taught for two years at a high school in Sierra Leone, West Africa. (Phil wrote an interesting account of his time there,  Softball, Snakes, Sausages, Flies and Rice: Peace Corps Life in 1960s Sierra Leone, available at Browseabout Books.)   

After the Peace Corps, Phil attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins in Bologna, Italy. While there, he was drafted into the army and was stationed for a time in Germany, a fortunate turn of events given where he could have been sent at that time and because he was fluent in German. Back in the States, Phil earned an MBA at Temple University and worked in the Philadelphia suburbs as a computer programmer, systems analyst and data center disaster recovery specialist. 

Phil married, stayed married for 25 years and raised two wonderful daughters. "In the mid 1990s, I realized I was more gay than not. I was counseled by an Episcopal priest to come out and be who I am. No better advice could I have found anywhere else. Subsequently I got divorced. I am so fortunate to have found a partner right after the divorce."

Phil and his partner bought a weekend home in Ocean View in 1998; they moved to Milton full-time in 2008 after Phil retired. Phil loves to sing which he does every chance he gets. He studied piano for years and sang in every school chorus, assembly, and men's glee club all through high school and college. He even sang in a chorus at the last place he worked. Phil sang with the Philadelphia Spruce Street Singers and the Clear Space Community Chorus. In addition to being a member of the CAMP Chorus since 2009, he currently sings in the Osher Life Long Learning chorus and participates in the Clear Space Legends classes. 

 "I enjoy CAMP Chorus for the musical selections, for the expert director and accompanist, and getting to know the other singers. Because it is a fun-loving group that includes such amazing talent, it is a pleasure to be among the members. I can’t think of a better place to live and sing! "

Thank you, Phil for your cheerful enthusiasm and for all you do for CAMP Rehoboth and the Chorus!