As the Community Chorus at South Berwick begins rehearsals for a new season on September 14, 2009, it will be a far cry from the twenty-odd singers who faced an uncertain future and a new director just ten years ago. Now recognized as one of the Seacoast’s premier singing groups, CCSB takes the stage with between 55 and 65 mixed singers drawn from communities across the Seacoast, and performs a diverse and challenging repertoire, accompanied by professional musicians, sometimes as much as a full chamber orchestra.
In 2000, faced with the retirement of founder-director Dianne Dean after 25 years, the chorus engaged Dr. Harry Moon, an accomplished “retired” musical educator, as director-conductor and pianist Audrey Adams as accompanist. Led by Harry, as he is known by all, the chorus mapped a transition from a fine local chorus to a fine regional chorus, without abandoning its inclusive community roots. Still the only requirement for joining the chorus is being willing to show up and work hard. Dr. Moon believes that ordinary singers can produce extraordinary music together. And the high musical standards of the chorus in turn attracted singers of high quality, including the leaders of other local singing groups. .
Audiences responded. Early in the transition, the small chorus was barely outnumbered by the audience on one stormy night in early April. Now attendance tops 200 for a typical concert. Growing audiences, corporate grants, and private contributions have permitted more ambitious productions and community outreach. CCSB commissioned and premiered two original choral works: Kevin Siegfried’s At the Water’s Edge in 2006, with a grant from Choral Arts New England, and Chip Kaufmann’s Spheres in 2008, with a grant from Kennebunk Savings Bank. Also in 2006, the chorus sponsored a festival concert series with area youth and school choruses that drew over 500 listeners and demonstrated that singing can be enjoyed for a lifetime. CCSB itself has had singers from seventeen to the seventies.
This year’s Christmas concerts on December 5 and 6 will feature seasonal music on the theme of “Noel, Alleluia” from early works to more contemporary selections by Randall Thompson and Eric Whitacre. The principal work for the April program will be “An Hour to Dance,” a choral cycle by Gwyneth Walker. It will also include other works inspired by movement and dance by composers from J.S. Bach to Benjamin Britten.
The first weekly Monday rehearsal will be at 7:00 p.m. on September 14 at the First Federated Parish Church on Academy Street at Main St. in South Berwick, Me. Prospective singers, preferably with choral experience, should plan to arrive 20 minutes early for registration and orientation. Dr. Moon also welcomes inquiries at 207-384-7059. The chorus Web site is CCSB-sing.org.
