On Sunday, May 18, 2014, the music ministry of Fanwood Presbyterian Church will present the third annual Fanwood Choir Festival. The event will feature a large chorus drawn from singers in Scotch Plains, Fanwood, and other communities. The day will culminate in a grand concert at 7:00 p.m. with guest conductors, choral repertoire, and a freewill offering to be donated to the rescue squads of Scotch Plains and Fanwood.
The rescue squads of Scotch Plains and Fanwood faithfully serve our community by providing essential emergency health assistance. They rely on donations from the public to maintain this service. The Fanwood Choir Festival is an opportunity for the SP/F community at large to gather at a celebratory event and provide monetary support for the rescue squads. Last year’s concert raised over $4,000.00 for the rescue squads.
The concert program will include well-loved patriotic music as well as inspiring classical, sacred, and multicultural choral works. Guest conductors will include Dr. Cindy Bell, Hofstra University faculty and frequent conductor at the Ocean Grove Choir Festival; Dr. Benjamin Harding, Cairn University faculty and Director of Music at Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Newark, DE; Ms. Virginia Johnston, conductor of the Triad Vocal Ensemble and executive director of The Discovery Orchestra; Mr. Matthew Webb, Director of Music at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown; and Thomas Berdos, Director of Music Ministries at Fanwood Presbyterian Church. Organist Deborah Berdos, clarinetist Amy M. Burns, and other musicians will also participate.
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Singers are invited to join in the chorus. Rehearsals will be at Fanwood Presbyterian Church on Wednesday evenings, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m., beginning on April 23, with several other rehearsals also scheduled (4/27/14, 4:00-5:00 p.m. and 5/17/14, 10:30 a.m. to noon). Singers should plan to attend as many rehearsals as possible. They will also need to purchase a packet of music (cost is $20.00, available at rehearsal). Dress rehearsal will beSunday, May 18, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Music reading skills are very helpful but not required. All who sing are cordially invited to join the chorus to support the rescue squads. It would be especially meaningful to have those who may have been assisted by the rescue squads singing in the chorus.
For more information or to participate in the chorus, please contact Tom Berdos attom.berdos@gmail.com or (908) 889-8891, ext. 17, or log onto http://fanwoodpc.org/music-ministry.html to download the brochure.
