Frontenac Women’s Chorus At 30
The Frontenac Women's Chorus FWC is celebrating its 30th anniversary this Saturday in fitting way, at its spring concert.
The concert starts at 7pm, at the Verona Free Methodist Church, and admission is by donation.
From its start back in 1996, the FWC has been all about inclusion, and not charging a fixed admission price is by design, a way to make sure everyone who wants to attend and hear the choir perform, has an opportunity to do so.
Stella Ter Hart, a multi-faceted musical force, best known as a composer, is the 4th director in FWC's storied history, and she has composed a piece for the women in the choir that will have its debut as part of the concert.
The choir was started by Jennifer Bennet, who was living in Sydenham in the 1990s. It was the first all female choir in the greater Kingston area. When Jennifer moved West, Betty Wagner took on the role of choir director, and she remained in that role for 17 years, before moving to Milton, where she continues to work with choirs.
The next director was Kingston based jazz singer Patty Smith.
During her 5 year tenure, Patty wrote many arrangements for the FWC and often brought in other local musicians to assist at concerts.
She was planning for her final concert as director in 2020, when COVID hit and the idea of people singing together in an enclosed space took on a new, unwelcome, meaning. She never was able to hold her finale.
Stella Ter Hart stepped in in the fall of 2022, when it was possible once again to hold rehearsals and concerts indoors, and has remained as director since then.
In order to mark the occasion this week, Jennifer Bennet will be on hand from her current home in BC, Patty Smith is scheduled to sing, and Stella is hoping that Betty will be able to attend as well.
It would be the first time that all four choir directors will be together to celebrate.
The FWC is currently on the upswing with 35 active singers. Half of the members have come to the choir within the last five years, in the post covid era, with the rest being long time members, including a group of 3 who have been with the choir since the start in 1996.
The concert will explore a theme of togetherness captured in Stella TerHart's new composition, which is called “I Sing of Home.”
As well as inviting former directors to attend, all former members, for whom the orchestra still has an address, have been invited to attend.
For the finale, there will be a surprise piece to finish the evening where all former members will come on stage and sing along!
It will be a fitting way to put a cap on the first 30 years of the Frontenac Women's Chorus, and an invitation to the start of the second 30 years of this local institution that has shown itself to be persistent and resilient over time.
All welcome to the spacious Verona Free Methodist Church on Saturday. For further information, go to fwchorus.ca
