If you love to sing, members of the Chester River Chorale invite you to join us in the Wesley Room of Chestertown’s Heron Point at 6 p.m. Monday, September 14, for the first rehearsal of our fall season.
No auditions required. We provide the music. All you need to bring is your voice, $40 for dues (students are free), and the desire to sing for the joy of it. And if you cannot make it on the first Monday, come on the 21st.
Regular Chorale practices are 7 p.m. Monday nights at Heron Point. All voices are welcome, including first and second soprano, first and second alto, first and second tenor, baritone, and bass.
Under the professional leadership of Douglas D. Cox, the Chorale’s artistic director, and accompanist Sam Marshall, we amateur singers of the Chorale, drawn primarily from Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, have been playing to standing-room-only audiences at our concerts in recent years.
Director Cox has put together an exciting program for the Holiday Concert to be sung December 4 and 5 at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown. Once again, we will collaborate with the wonderful Chester River Youth Choir, founded and directed by Julie Lawrence.
Soon after our regular rehearsals get underway, all people of all ages and voices are invited to the Gospel Extravaganza workshop and concert at Mt. Olive AME Church in Worton north of Chestertown. At the free three-day event, participants can learn the history and techniques of singing and playing gospel music from Dr. Robert L. Jefferson, pianist, singer, composer, and a leading expert in the gospel art form. The workshop, sponsored by the Chorale and Mt. Olive AME Church, begins Friday, September 25 with an evening rehearsal. On Saturday, there will be a free public lecture by Dr. Jefferson at 9 a.m. and rehearsals afterward until 4 p.m. On Sunday, participants will put their learning to the test at a free public concert at 2 p.m.
Forsooth, for the spring concert in April, you’ll want to brush up your Shakespeare when we collaborate with actors from Shore Shakespeare to bring you Elizabethan song and verse.
Some Chorale members will also sing songs commemorating the American Revolution at the Chestertown Tea Party festival. We also plan to continue to join in singing a program with Washington College’s student chorus.
We aim to close the season in grand finale fashion when Chorale members again join the National Music Festival Orchestra under Maestro Richard Rosenberg, this time to sing the familiar “Ode to Joy” of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (The Choral) on June 11 and 12.
It sounds like we are in for another terrific season. Join in and help us to make it even better.
The Chester River Chorale is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded in part by Yerkes Construction Co., the Hedgelawn Foundation, the Kent County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. The CRC’s Mission is to provide opportunity and inspiration for amateur singers to strive for artistic excellence. CRC performances entertain diverse audiences and enrich the cultural life of the community. For more information visit www.chesterriverchorale.org; check out the Chorale on Facebook, or call 410–928–5566.
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