~ The History of County Classic Chorale ~
In 1982, a group of former members of the Leamington Choral Society met at the home of June Brown to discuss the formation of a new chorus. Helen Law, the founder of the Choral Society, had decided to restructure and reform her choir into the Helen Law Singers. Her new group required fewer singers and some of the former members wanted to continue singing and performing. June Brown knew someone in her church who was willing to direct a new chorus. Sharlaine Reid was approached to become the conductor, Barbara Odell then became the first accompanist and the County Classic Chorale began its history of singing together. The original rehearsal site was Jack Miner Public School in Kingsville, with a move a few years later to Knox Presbyterian Church in Leamington. It was only natural that the first concert took place in the Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints church where both June Brown and Sharlaine Reid were members. Later concerts took place at Mackenzie Hall in Windsor and an assortment of churches throughout the area with the main venue becoming Knox Presbyterian Church. After the closing of Knox in 2022, the Chorale moved it’s rehearsals and the majority of concert performances to Faith Mennonite Church in Leamington.
Sharlaine then passed the baton to Karen Koestler. Since then, a number of talented musicians have directed the chorus, including Elaine Penner, Amanda Bower, Ruth Driedger, Mary Krueger, Paul Wharram and Dr. Adam Adler. Each successive director has added to our numbers and to our repertoire. We owe a debt of gratitude to each one. We look forward to many more years of new music, new friends and the enjoyment that singing in the County Classic Chorale brings to all of us.
After Barbara Odell, the piano bench was occupied by John Stone and Linda Cook; but for the majority of the years by Dorothy Botham. Dorothy was an extremely gifted artist capable of adapting to any style of music with ease. We were heartbroken when Dorothy retired after our 30th anniversary concerts in 2012 however, we were very pleased to have a former director, Elaine Penner, sharing her musical talents with us once again, this time as collaborative pianist. In 2022, Elaine took leave of the Chorale and we were blessed to have highly accomplished Michael Oddy to become our accompanist from 2022-2024, and we are delighted to have playing for us Olga Nesterenko from Ukraine.
The first concerts were performed by fewer than twenty singers with only about four of them being tenors and basses. Currently, we average between 35-50 members. Our Chorale membership is constantly changing as members stay as long as their work and family life allow, move away or even pass away. A few founding members are still singing in the chorus today!
Over the years, we have sung in Latin, French, German, Serbian, English and Swahili. Our music is eclectic and our repertoire ranges from classical works to the contemporary, from Broadway tunes to songs of remembrance and from somber to sometimes silly. During our 30th anniversary concerts, we were particularly proud to premiere our first commissioned piece, My Song of Joy, composed by Larry Nickel and inspired by a poem of the late Fab Ricciardi.
During our 30th anniversary year, we took time to look back to the people who brought us this far and thank them for sharing their time and talent with us. Former members and directors were all invited to celebrate our anniversary with us and many of them answered the call and sang with us during our concert in Kingsville.
Our logo was designed by a long standing member, Blanche Rabideau who has also designed and hand drawn numerous posters, cards and other Chorale materials over the years. The pin we wear during performances proudly displays this logo which has become the symbol of love and pride that our members share in being part of the Chorale family. We look forward to many more years of new music, new friends and the enjoyment that singing in the County Classic Chorale brings to all of us.
