ASHLAND — The Ashland Area Community Choir will brighten many people’s day during its annual spring concert May 1 at Zion’s Reformed United Church of Christ.
The concert by the 40 choir members is called “Music Through the Ages,” and will present a wide variety of musical styles ranging from 1939 to the present at 3 p.m. in the church at 2100 Centre St. The choir is under the direction of Bruce McCormick, Frackville, with accompaniment on piano by choir founder Betty Chappell, Ashland. Additional music will be provided by Mark O’Hearn. There is no admission charge and a freewill offering will be accepted.
The choir will also perform for the residents at Broad Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Frackville, on May 3.
“It’s a service organization, if you want to look at it that way,” McCormick said. “We go out and try to promote goodwill. At Christmas time, we did concerts at five different locations.”
The programs were held in Hometown, Ringtown, Carlisle, the local show at the Church of the Nazarene, Lavelle, and the final one at Old Fashioned Christmas in Ashland.
“The Christmas show at the Nazarene church couldn’t hold more people,” McCormick said. “They said it was the biggest crowd ever in that church since it was built. We have a good following.”
Chappell said the program is divided into two parts — the first being sacred music, followed by the second half filled with secular music. The spiritual songs include “Come, Worship God,” “Shine on Me,” “A Prayer for Heroes,” “Sing Your Way Home” and “A Celebration of Spirituals.”
The second part features “Basin Street Blues,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” “Love is Here to Stay,” “I Said My Pajamas (And Put on My Pray’rs)” and finishes with “God Bless America.”
The community choir was founded in 1982 when Ashland was celebrating its quasquicentennial, 125th birthday. Requests were made to Chappell by quasqui organizers to put together a large group of singers who were involved in the many church choirs.
“We sang in the UCC church and Father (Joseph) Kean heard us and he was thrilled,” Chappell said. Kean was pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Ashland.
“Father Kean wanted us to do a concert at Christmas time at St. Joe’s Church, which we did, and that was the beginning of the choir,” Chappell said. “We started doing Christmas concerts then. At the time we had about 60 people. There were probably five organists who also sang. I was the organist and choir director at Bethany EC church and the Episcopal church in Ashland.”
Chappell said Miriam “Mim” Maurer was the community choir’s pianist for many years, but a few years ago, Maurer decided to give up that duty. Chappell asked McCormick to take on the director’s role as she moved to the piano.
“We don’t charge admission. We feel it is something to give to community and we all enjoy doing it,” Chappell said.
Since that time, the Ashland group has included people from many different towns in the area.
“We have people from 14 communities involved in it,” McCormick said. “We’re running around 40 people. We stretch out to the west as far as Sunbury and Shamokin, to the east from Barnesville and Tuscarora, to the north from Zion Grove and to the south from Pottsville. Everyone is welcome.”
McCormick has been involved with the group since the 1980s and has been the director since 2011. He has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Penn State University and is a member of the popular local band The Shoreliners.