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Many good things in our world start with someone’s dream. A prickling in the spirit, the seed of an idea that will not go away. Others come along, see that seed, and want to water and help make it grow.
The dream of an auditioned choir that would represent the local talent they knew was available, spanning generations from teens to senior adults. They wanted an opportunity to perform a broad range of choral music that reflected a diversity of genres while drawing from the best in choral repertoire. When they didn’t find what they were looking for, they decided to create it. Thus, in May 2009, Blue Ridge Singers was born.
The story, the seeds of the dream, were planted years earlier, though. Pat sang in the Concert Choir at Westminster College in Pennsylvania. She studied voice for four years there and presented a senior recital. Her future husband, Mike, was also a student at Westminster, and though perhaps not as involved in music in college as Pat was, he shared her love of it. So, it is no surprise that music came to be important to their daughter, Beth, now the choral director at Warren County High School. It’s hard to miss the pride and happiness in Pat’s voice as she tells how, at Beth’s senior recital, she was able to sing a duet with her daughter. Beth also presented Laurie’s Song, a solo from Aaron Copeland’s opera The Tender Land, which Pat sang at her own recital some years before.
Pat and Mike sang in college, and later, when Front Royal Little Theater presented Carousel, Pat had the lead role and Mike also performed. It’s clear that music is an important part of their life together; Mike is a member of the Singers as well as Vice-President of the Board of Directors.
Pat and Beth assembled a group of friends that would be interested in singing in this new choir, and Tom Bowen, who was then a choral director at Skyline High School in Front Royal, agreed to direct. The group debuted at the Festival of Leaves in Front Royal in October 2009, dressed in sweaters of different fall colors.
Just as it takes a seed time to grow, though, there were some growing pains. After the Festival of Leaves, the group presented a formal concert in November 2010, but then Bowen resigned. He recommended the group talk to Dr. Jeff Alban, who was the music director of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Front Royal. It so happened Alban had been weighing the idea of starting a community choir. He agreed to become artistic director, bringing with him some members of his church’s choir. The first concerts under his direction were performed in December 2011.
As Pat says, the new singers were not the only thing Dr. Alban brought. He required commitment from the singers and exemplified a level of excellence and a high standard of musicianship. A new era had begun.
Fast forward to the present and Blue Ridge Singers is a regionally recognized choral group, a dream become reality. So, it was only natural to ask Pat what the highlights of this have been for her. She loved seeing the strong response to the Singers’ presentation of music from the movie Frozen, with many families in attendance. Premiering the work Run, Shenandoah, with the text by local poet Barbara Frank and the arrangement by local composer Glenn Caluda, was another highlight. It always is a joy to perform with the Blue Ridge Singers and to see people respond to the music. The shared experience, working as a group with others to create something beautiful through both the challenges and the highs is something that Pat focused on.
And as for dreams? Pat has many, including engaging a more diverse group of singers, collaborating with other choral groups, and supporting the work of young choristers. It’s likely that she’s already at work planting some seeds.