Joyful songs from
the the chorale

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

People don’t need anything else to do during the holidays.
Most folks find their schedules overbooked as it is with activities like shopping, cooking and visiting family and friends, along with babysitting the kids on vacation from school.
But those traditional tasks are just the tip of the mistletoe for a group of several dozen adults who live in the Northeast and neighboring communities. Members of the Greater Philadelphia Chorale also spend a few hours every Tuesday night honing their semi-professional vocal cords on seasonal classics ranging from Handel to Home for the Holidays.
Founded six years ago by Nazareth Academy High School choral director and voice teacher David Hall at the encouragement of several of his students’ parents, the Greater Philadelphia Chorale actually rehearses and performs for about eight months of the year.
But as it is for the rest of us, the holidays always seem to be the singers’ busiest time of the year. By the time Santa passes through town on Christmas Eve, the 43-voice group will have had five area performances in a one-month span.
They opened the season on Nov. 27 at the Philadelphia Protestant Home in Lawndale and followed with their Celebrate the Season concert last Saturday in the visually majestic and acoustically reverberating Nazareth Academy chapel.
On Wednesday, they delivered a private performance at the Princeton Hyatt Regency Hotel. On Friday, the chorale will make its final public appearance of the season at Queen of the Universe Roman Catholic Church in Levittown. Tickets are $10.
The group will close its holiday schedule on Dec. 20 with a private performance at the Shannondell retirement community in Audubon, Montgomery County.
Despite all of the Christmas spirit in its seasonal repertoire, the group is expressly non-sectarian.
In fact, it encourages participation by folks of all religious and ethnic backgrounds.
"The neat thing about it is it’s a community choir. We have Jewish people, African-American people. We have Spanish-speaking women. We have all ethnicities," said Hall, the co-founder and artistic director.
The men and women of the group also represent an array of professions and a span of ages.
According to the choir’s executive director, Robert Uslin, current members include a retired private investigator and car salesman, a retired pharmacist, a Verizon lineman, a public school teacher, a nurse, a biologist, a suburban municipal employee and a college student. Uslin is an accountant.
The youngest members are still in their teens, while the oldest are approaching 80.
"You’re never too old to sing and never too young to participate," Hall said.
That’s exactly what Uslin and other Nazareth parents had in mind when they first approached Hall about forming the adult choir. At the time, Uslin’s daughter Karen was involved in Nazareth Academy’s vocal program. But for him and several other parents, watching their daughters was not enough.
"We were the so-called music parents at the high school," Uslin said. "We went to David and said, ‘What about us?’"
Most of the original group had moderate to little vocal training. The extent of their prior experience consisted of karaoke and singing in the shower. Interestingly, stage fright never seemed to bother them much.
"We all just like to sing," Uslin said. "Whether we can really sing or not, that’s for David to decide. However well we do sing, it’s all because of David."
Hall is more than willing to work with beginners, as long as they demonstrate a certain aptitude and enthusiasm for the endeavor. In fact, he believes, the beauty of the chorale is seeing members develop as performers.
"I really appreciate the fact that some are learning to read music through performing here," Hall said. "Robert Shaw (the 20th-century American conductor) said that’s where music is really important — for the amateur singer."
The chorale generally holds auditions in the early fall and after the new year, at the start of rehearsals for the winter and spring programs. Tryouts are open to anyone willing to take part, but Hall’s standards are high for selection to the chorale. Regardless of experience, performers must have a good ear and a good voice, the artistic director explained. The group features four primary vocal ranges — soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
Though amateurs, the group takes a professional approach to its craft. This year’s winter repertoire, for instance, includes true classics from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as O Magnum Mysterium and the Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah, as well as 20th-century seasonal favorites including I’ll Be Home for Christmas and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
One of Hall’s missions in orchestrating a concert is to expose the audiences to rarely heard classical music. Yet there must be some more familiar material included, lest audiences lose interest in the program.
"We try to do a variety and expose the audience to something they haven’t heard before," Hall said.
The chorale’s versatility has contributed largely to its success. It has performed at a variety of venues, including churches, senior homes, the National Constitution Center and aboard the Battleship New Jersey.
"We’ll sing any place people want us to sing because we have a variety to offer," Hall said.
The group collaborates at least once a year with the Nazareth Academy and Holy Ghost Prep choirs. "That’s our educational outreach," Hall said.
After the holidays, the chorale will begin to prepare for its two big public performances in April at Nazareth Academy. A cabaret-style dinner concert Gotta Be Gershwin, will be held on April 6, followed by the ensemble’s annual spring concert on April 26.
On Tuesday nights throughout January, the chorale will hold auditions for new members for the spring season. All vocal parts are welcome. Some choral experience and music reading are helpful. Call Rob Uslin at 215-639-0633 to schedule an audition. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com