April 2, 2004

Ina Krause, voice teacher joins students in a fundraiser to support Dystonia Foundation

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Ina Krause, a former opera singer, is a voice teacher. The 63-year old sang with the Pittsburg Opera Company as well as the Lyric Open Theater in addition to teaching and singing oratorium and concert music in that city. She moved to Willow Glen with her family in 1972. Krause, who has been teaching voice for about 35 years, has a disease called Dystonia.

Krause and the entire Mack family, which includes two parents, seven children and several of their assorted spouses, will hold a fundraiser, a Musical Evening Celebrating the Seasons of Love, to help support those who have the disease on Monday, May 10 from 7- to 10 p.m. at the LePetit Trianon Theater, 72 North 5th Street, San Jose. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Dystonia Foundation.

The disease is the third most common movement disorder after Parkinson’s Disease. It affects more than 300,000 people in North American. A neurological movement disorder, Dystonia’s symptoms include involuntary muscle contractions that force certain parts of the body into abnormal, sometimes painful, movements or postures. It can affect any body part including arms, legs, trunk, neck, eyelids, face or vocal chords. It does not affect cognition, strength or the senses. It is not a fatal disease, but it is chronic.

Krause said she was diagnosed with the disease in 1990. Her symptoms are localized in her neck, which pulls on her neck and spine. “It started in my jaw. I had trouble chewing. The doctors told me it was just stress, but then my head started to spasm and constantly flex. Eventually the muscle gets so still it’s like my head gets stuck,” she said.

There is no cure for the disease, but Krause has botox shots every three months and exercises as well as seeing a chiropractor, all of which help abate the symptoms. The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation notes that most treatments are symptomatic. Doctors typically treat the disease using oral medications, botox injections and surgery alone or in combination. Physical and speech therapy also can help depending on the form of the disease.

To help Krause and the foundation, her students sometimes schedule a benefit. The first was held five years ago when three of her students performed at Le Petite Trianon Theater. This year, the Mack family, along with Krause, has planned the benefit.

“We’re doing this because of Ina, she trained all seven of our children. A couple of our kids had vocal problems, which Ina helped them with. She’s been a wonderful friend to our family, which actually is quite scattered now. Some of the children are married and only one still lives at home, the others are coming from all over the country, New York, Washington D.C., Utah and Los Angeles. All the children studied with Ina. They love and appreciate her and hate to see her with this disease and want to help,” said Pat Mack, the mother of the seven children who have studied with Krause.

The Mack family has taken care of the cost of the theater and the accompanist, Daniel Lockert, won’t charge full price, Pat Mack added. Krause, she said, has been an extremely good friend and positive influence on the entire family. “Megan could have ruined her singing voice [when she developed nodules], but Ina helped her. She is well informed in areas besides teaching voice because she knows a lot about speech therapy and allergies. She caught problems with another one of our daughters before they became serious,” Mack said.

The 12-family members will perform mostly Broadway songs. Of the seven children, three—Kellie, Julie and Katie—are still in school. Kellie is a senior at BYU and plans to go to grad school. Katie, a senior in high school will attend BYU with her sister Julie next year.

James and his wife Angela are in New York pursuing stage careers. Ben has a masters’ degree in Public Administration, lives in Washington DC and works as a public servant. Megan has a degree in musical dance and is teaching music to schoolchildren. Emily has a statistics degree with a minor in dance. Her husband Patrick grew up in a performance related family and he now works in the film industry.

Tickets for the event are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens and $15 for students. A dessert and fruit reception will follow the performance. All proceeds will go to the Dystonia Foundation to increase public awareness of the disease and provide support groups for patients and their families. For more information, call Pat Mack at (408) 251-0438 or Ina Krause at (408) 265-3413.