ROCHESTER — When voice teacher Sharon Jensen started her studio 25 years ago, she decided that her students would not simply do recitals for family, but would instead use their voices for community service as well. She believes it’s helped them grow as singers and people.

She holds shows for her group, called Voices in Time, almost monthly at assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and anywhere else that is looking for public entertainment.

Jensen said the group is “kind of what makes me different as a teacher,” but also calls it a way of “volunteering and paying it back,” and says her students have “learned so much from getting out in the public eye.

The group’s name comes from Jensen’s belief that “if you take the time to practice, you will become a voice, in time.”

Voices in Time has its own twist on Christmas caroling: a Christmas tour of nursing homes. Jensen says that she wanted her students to engage with seniors because research has shown that music is therapeutic for dementia and cognitive disorders.

The voice teacher sets up the program so that every season has a different theme. This season is rock and roll themed, while last season focused on Disney.

Not all of Jensen’s 50 students participate in the group. But if her students choose to participate, Jensen is able to plan some of their lesson time to practicing the group’s pieces.  “It gives kids a focus and opens their eyes to different music,” the voice teacher said.

Students can commit to the volunteer group on a performance-by-performance basis. For some performances Voices in Time is 10 students, at other times 15 or 20.

Students in her group range from age 7 to 18, but singing together builds strong bonds between them. Jensen says her singers are “Like a family. They challenge one another, and make each other grow.” The ensemble’s duets, trios, or full group numbers also teach young singers “how to work together, not just how to be a soloist.”

The voice teacher also has a group for younger kids within her larger group, called the Music Juniors.

Jensen says her teaching strategy is to focus on what her students’ strengths are. “You never want to give kids something they’re going to fail at,” she said.

She said at one recent performance an audience member asked her “how are these kids so poised and confident?”

Jensen said she sees her students who prioritize singing with others excel.

And some of them use it as a stepping stone to find other ways to give back. Two of her Voices in Time singers, Brooke and Braley now volunteer as a duo in nursing homes, serenading residents with a voices and a guitar.

Voices in Time will have its next tri-town performance at the Knights of Columbus Fall Festival on Sept. 28 at noon.