Songs of the Season

Don’t miss the Claremore Community Chorus’s 26th annual Christmas Concert on December 4, 2012 at 7:30 p.m., at St. Cecilia Catholic Church.

Part of the warmth and charm of the Christmas season comes from music, and in the spirit of keeping this tradition, Claremore Community Chorus will present its 26th annual Christmas Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4 at St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Claremore (north of Blue Starr Drive at 1304 N. Dorothy). This concert promises to fill the evening with rich and vibrant Christmas sound, featuring a spirit of Christmas medley, a German folk carol, Dona Nobis Pacem and other holiday tunes, accompanied by piano, a ­glockenspiel, and hand bells from the Claremore’s First United Methodist Church. A special presentation by Silk III will also be featured. Voices from Claremore’s elementary schools will join the ­performance as well, lending an angelic quality to the concert.

    Claremore Community Chorus has carved its own niche in Claremore tradition over the past two and a half decades. They have performed a wide array of musical types – jazz, ­classical, secular, Latin, Broadway, old time favorites, love songs, holiday pieces – at local community churches, Robson Performing Arts Center, and Will Rogers Memorial ­during Will Rogers Days. They have also joined forces with ­other area choirs to perform at various events in Tulsa. To kick off the holiday season in November, they were an integral part of Dickens on the Boulevard, where they sang ­carols along Will Rogers Boulevard and at the Belvidere Mansion. This year, they also sang a piece at the annual ­community Thanksgiving service presented by the Ministerial Alliance of Claremore.

    After a brief respite ­following their Christmas ­concert, the chorus begins ­warming up their collective vocal chords in preparation for their annual spring concert in May. Even though it is too late to be involved in the Christmas ­concert, Mary Slater of Claremore Community Chorus wants everyone to know that the chorus always welcomes new voices and now would be a ­perfect time to consider ­involvement for the May concert.

    “Our chorus is always ­looking for more voices from both men and women, especially tenor and bass, to enrich our choir with volume and tones, which makes the music come alive more,” Mary says. “Reading music is not required – many of us sing by tones and blending voices under the great direction of Vicki McCuistan, who explains the music and notes for greater understanding and to give meaning to our songs.” Mary also is happy to make ­mention of the chorus’s new pianist, Ronna Hatley, “whom all feel has brought much talent to our choir.”

    The chorus meets during the winter and spring for rehearsals every Tuesday evening at 6:45 p.m. at St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Claremore, and Mary encourages those who are interested in becoming a part of the chorus, through voice or instrument, to mark their ­calendars for January, when new members are accepted and ­practices for the spring ­concert begin. “This is a great group of local people with many things in common: love of music, singing, gathering ­together, and having fun.”

For more information, contact

Claremore Community Chorus

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