It’s a Monday night at the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center in Rockford, and Karen Cantele is checking people in for a rehearsal of the Mendelssohn Chorale.
Now the Chorale’s Manager, Cantele says hers is a common story here.
“I heard from some friends that, ‘You should come and sing in this amazing group,’ about seven years ago,” she said. “So I came, and it’s been the most uplifting thing I could have done so far for my own professional singing -- you know, enjoyment.”
Cliff Runyard has a similar tale. His church choir director suggested he try the Chorale. Four years later, he’s still singing tenor in the group.
Runyard jokes that the rehearsals are a way to get out of the house. But, seriously, he says, it helps him reclaim a part of himself -- a part he’d left behind.
“I sang in college and stuff,” he said, “and then got married, had kids, and didn’t sing for a while. And I got back into it by doing this kind of stuff.”
Keri Solverson is another person who’s found a home in the chorus. She’s been a member for more than a decade.
“I love to sing, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to continue the skill set that I’ve been blessed with,” she said. “And it’s fun to be with all these musical people. And it’s an awesome opportunity to sing with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.”
Solverson wishes the Chorale could do even more than they do now. As far as she is concerned, everyone should join a chorus -- and this one in particular.
The Mendelssohn Chorale was founded in 1975 as a program of the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center. Since 1999, it has been the official chorus of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.
Martha Bein – everyone calls her Marty -- has directed the chorus for more than 20 years. She says most members have a fair amount of choral experience; but there are no auditions needed to get in, and the choir has a broad range of skill levels.
Some, like Runyard, sang in college, or in church. Some are music teachers. Some even sing professionally, but not many -- and Bein likes that.
“It’s also wonderful to gather together with people on Monday nights who come from all walks of life,” she said. “We have judges and doctors, and we have engineers and people who are paid hourly for their jobs. And everybody contributes equally, and we’ve come together and become one unified voice.”
In some years, the chorus has had only a small -- although important -- role to play in Rockford Symphony programs, but not this time. Johannes Brahms’s “A German Requiem” is the very definition of a monumental piece of music, and the chorus is the star of the show -- which is to say, it has a lot to do.
Brahms composed the large-scale work, using passages from the Luther Bible, between 1865 and 1868. Unlike the traditional Latin requiems, Brahms used his native German language -- and that is how the Chorale will sing the work.
Even so, Runyard says, he has confidence in Bein’s leadership.
“This stuff’s very challenging, and it’s really some tough stuff,” he said, “but she breaks it down real easy and you get there. Sooner or later, you got it mastered.”
Bein returns the compliment, citing members’ willingness to give up their Monday nights to rehearse sometimes difficult music. She says the chance to do the Brahms requiem has attracted new members to the group this year, including some outstanding musicians.
That’s a testament to the music, Bein says, but also to the Chorale; and it makes the Chorale even stronger as it prepares for the Nov. 11 concert in the Coronado Performing Arts Center.
Everyone says there’s still time for fun, and each says he or she has made friends among their fellow Chorale members. But close or not, Cantele says they all share a bond -- a bond others are welcome to share.
“If you really want a challenge, and you want to work hard, and you want the excitement and thrill of accomplishing something,” she said, “this is the place to be.”
Plus, at the end, you get to show what you’ve accomplished -- on stage -- with a professional orchestra, for the whole community to hear.