Harmony Program

On Wednesday September 20, 2023 we lost our beloved father, Michael Ingram, who was a passionate teacher, accomplished performer, and supporter of the arts & music. We're raising funds to give the gift of learning music he shared with so many students, and us, with kids in underprivileged communities who need it.

Please join us in supporting Harmony Program, a wonderful charity that expands access to music education. More info on Michael's life, and Harmony Program, are included below. Thank you for your support.

______

Michael Harvey Ingram

May 26, 1938 - September 20, 2023

Michael Harvey Ingram, Broadway performer, soap opera and streaming actor, voiceover artist, Robert Shaw Chorale alum, and master teacher died in Yonkers, New York on September 20, 2023, surrounded by his family who adored him. He was 85.

From an early age, there wasn’t a room that Michael walked into that didn’t feel his presence. When most people talked to communicate, he sang. Born on May 26, 1938 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn to Chauncey and Yetta (Langsam) Ingram, Michael was raised with his siblings Gilda (deceased), Donald (deceased) and Paula. His family moved frequently in the greater New York City area in his younger years from Brownsville, Brooklyn, to Hollis, Queens, to Smithtown, New York, on Long Island.

Michael earned a music scholarship to Hofstra University, graduating in 1960. His instrument? His voice. After college he earned his M.A. at Stony Brook University, and toured the American South with the Robert Shaw Chorale. While being interviewed by one of his granddaughters for a middle school history project, he shared one of his strongest memories of that experience during the turbulent ‘60s. First, their integrated singing troupe wasn’t allowed to eat together in restaurants. Then, they were often mistaken for the civil rights activists, the Freedom Riders, and frequently chased out of town. With the Robert Shaw Chorale, he also toured in South America, and sang in the nationally televised concert for JFK’s Memorial.

Back in the US, he became a music teacher at Sachem High School in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, where he spent more than a decade inspiring dozens of students, whom he proudly kept in touch with. He had a knack for connecting with students who often felt overlooked, and went out of his way to make sure they were always seen. He was a theater director for student productions, helping direct everything from “Man of La Mancha” to “Hair” to “The Wiz.” When school was out for the year, he would perform in summer stock theaters, including in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Brunswick, Maine - sparking his desire to jump into showbiz.

After leaving teaching and in his late 30s, he decided to shoot for the stars and achieve his dream of becoming a full-time actor. Boy, did he succeed. In 1977 he landed the role of Vince Wolek on the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live,” where he provided comic relief opposite actors like Judith Light. He played Vince Wolek until 1981.

In 1979, he had a starring role on Broadway, as Teo in the musical “Sarava.” There he played opposite Tovah Feldshuh. When the New York Times reviewed “Sarava,” he earned a “nicely played by Michael Ingram ' from the critic. (New York Times, February 12, 1979) Two months after that review, the Times profiled him in “A Music Teacher Takes to the Stage” (New York Times, April 15, 1979). Some of his additional Broadway credits include Bob Fosse’s revival of “Sweet Charity” and the original Broadway cast of “Jekyll and Hyde.”

If you’ve ever binge watched “Law and Order,” then you’ve seen Michael Ingram on screen. Dick Wolf seemed to love casting him as an NYPD cop gone wrong. He also had many memorable, one-off roles in film and on TV, including “The Sopranos,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Sex and the City,” and “A Perfect Murder.” He shared the screen with many of the greats - including Michael Douglas, Helen Hunt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Louis C.K, and many others. He was always most at home, backstage - and onstage, and in his later years regularly performed Yiddish & Jewish songs at Temple Beth Shalom, in Hastings-on-Hudson and across Europe as a part of the Katzensprung Singers. His voice remained in pristine shape all the way.

His first marriage ended in divorce but that marriage made him a father, and a grandfather. Daughter Leah is 57. In 1982, he married again. Since then he’s been married to his wife Donna, whom he loved dearly; their 41st anniversary was this past summer. They have two children, Joshua, 37, and Sophia, 31. He insisted all three of his children take piano lessons, some more enthusiastically than others. His eldest daughter continued the piano lesson tradition with his granddaughters, Jane and Annie, now 28 and 26. As adults, they all realize that what he wanted for them was to have the same love of music that he did. And for that they are forever grateful.

For 85 years Michael blessed this world with his many talents - bringing people to tears through song with his unmistakable voice: a rich tenor with a versatile range into baritone. He loved making people laugh with quips and spur of the moment jokes (not always appropriate for mixed company), inspiring dozens of students with his passion for the arts, and trying to keep Yiddish culture alive through song. He will be sorely missed and forever remembered.

______

More information about Harmony Program:

We're a nonprofit organization that provides intensive instrumental music training in underserved communities across NYC.

At the Harmony Program, music changes lives every day. Through collective music making, children from underserved communities explore new avenues and realize their full potential. Our specially trained teachers guide students from beginner group instruction to orchestral performance, building life skills and community from a shared love of music.