BRATTLEBORO — This fall, the Brattleboro Women's Chorus begins a year of celebrating 25 years of singing with online musical events on the 25th day of some months. All are welcome to join with them in song.
At the first Zoom celebration, on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 4 to 5 p.m., chorus members will welcome Elizabeth Melvin, a song leader and choir director of the Freedom Choir in Maryland.
Melvin and chorus Musical Director Becky Graber will share leadership of an hour of singing, leading songs of hope, resilience, and love.
In September 1996, Graber hosted a group of women and girls at a Wednesday night rehearsal at KidsPLAYce, the play center where her husband Tim Ellis served as the director.
She imagined she would gather a small number to sing together through the fall, but people kept coming to the Brattleboro Women's Chorus.
By November, with more than 60 singers, they outgrew KidsPLAYce. They then rehearsed each week in the music room at Oak Grove School, and the group held its first concert during an ice storm in December - an event that prompted the chorus to schedule concerts in November instead.
On Sunday, Nov. 22 from 4 to 5:30 p.m., the chorus will hold its fall concert singalong. On Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 7 to 8 p.m., the second 25th Anniversary virtual gathering will feature a visit from Lea Morris, an award-winning singer and songwriter from the Washington, D.C. region.
To join in the Zoom celebration, register at bit.ly/584_womens-chorus. This event is free, but a donation ($10 to $25 suggested) from those who are not members of the chorus will be appreciated.