Frontenac Women’s Chorus at Bellrock Hall

Dec 21, 2016

It was a full house at Bellrock Hall as the Frontenac Women’s Chorus held their annual Christmas Concert on Saturday night.

The event was held by donation and guests were asked to bring along an item for the food bank.

The chorus sang a wide array of holiday classics including favourites like “Let it Snow,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Sleigh Ride.” They also covered a number of less known but equally charming classics like the traditional Jewish folk song, “Mi ze Hidlik.”

Special guests, Toute Ensemble (Anne Archer, Debbie Twiddy and Melanie Fyfe) and Val Hamilton took the stage for a few special songs throughout the night.

The audience was even encouraged to get involved at times and sing along to a few popular holiday classics. Lyrics to songs like “Frosty the Snowman” were provided in the night’s program for audience members to refer to as they participated in the fun.

The beautifully decorated hall made for a cheerful, warm place for the audience to enjoy their favourite holiday tunes.

Many of the performers even stuck around after the show to enjoy refreshments and conversation with the audience.

The Frontenac Women’s Chorus celebrated their 20-year anniversary around a year and a half ago.

Director Patty Smith has been with the chorus since last September. She took over the position from Betty Wagner who had previously directed the chorus for approximately 15 years.

When accompanist, Kate Van Allen approached her about the directing position, Smith jumped on the opportunity.

She had taken directing workshops in Toronto and was looking to branch out and further widen her music career. “They have been really patient with me,” she says.

Smith has been involved with music for most of her life. She grew up with her father playing all different types of music. She started singing lessons at 19 and has been fairly involved in the music community ever since.

“I started enjoying choir music as I got older,” she says. “I don’t have as much of a need to be the star performer anymore so it’s kind of fun to just work with a bunch of voices and work to blend them together.”

“It’s like being a sculptor… you’re making an aural sculpture out of [the voices],” says Smith.

The chorus is made up of many incredibly talented women. There is a lot of time and effort put into creating the perfect harmony with their voices to make successful shows like this possible.

The group gets together every Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity United Church in Verona to rehearse. They encourage anyone with a passion for singing and the ability to sing in tune to come out to rehearsal.