The Gilmer Arts Community Chorus invites the public to enjoy a program of heartfelt singing and exciting music at its upcoming spring concert.
The chorus concert will be held Sunday, April 24, at Ellijay First United Methodist Church (FUMC), 75 McCutchen Street. It will begin at 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 12-18 and kids under 12 are free.
It will be the longstanding community chorus’ first concert in two years after no spring or fall shows in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID concerns, confirmed John Rathbone, chorus member.
“We’re happy to be back after two years of not being able to do anything. We gave it a try in the fall, but we didn’t have enough people to turn out because folks were still really concerned about (COVID). People came to the first couple of rehearsals wearing masks, and it’s really hard to sing wearing masks,” he added. “People came back in a much better mood in January, and we had a good turnout. We’ve got some new members we’ve never had before including a few younger people.”
The concert will feature a mix of sacred and secular music led by four directors — Hannah Carter, Susan Gooch, Dr. Patrick Young and Charles Claiborne.
Carter is the current music and choir director at Gilmer High School, while Young is FUMC’s director of music. Gooch is a pianist for Jasper Methodist Church and a longtime community chorus accompanist, while Claiborne is a past conductor of the Smyrna Community Chorus and past assistant conductor of the Atlanta Choral Guild.
Spring concert selections include “Consider the Lillies,” a collection of traditional Appalachian folk songs and hymns by composer Tim Powell directed by Claiborne, and “The Call of Music,” an energetic, inspirational piece by composer Joseph Martin, which Young will direct.
“I think this program is exciting, and the music we’re doing is going to connect well with the local area. It’s all super fun music to welcome folks into springtime,” said Young, a band director and assistant professor of music at Young Harris College who’ll be making his debut leading the Gilmer Arts chorus.
The community chorus, which has been rehearsing weekly since January, will be joined for the spring concert by the children’s choir from Ellijay Elementary School. The children’s choir will sing three selections under the direction of Katie Mayfield, Rathbone said.
“The idea came from the Gilmer Arts board to showcase these choral groups from the schools at a different place and to a different crowd than just parents of the kids at school. We figured it was a good time to give that a whirl,” said Rathbone.
Tickets for the spring concert are available online at GilmerArts.com or at the door.
“It will be a nice Sunday afternoon getaway to listen to some good chorus music. We’re just excited to be back,” Rathbone said.