The Women’s Chorale of Corning marks a major milestone this spring with its 35th anniversary concert, All the Beautiful Years, on Saturday, May 16 at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ on West Pulteney Street.
“It’s a wide, wide variety,” said chorale member Wendy Hovey of the program. “We’ve chosen some favorites from past concerts, including Bread and Roses by Mimi Fariña, in a special arrangement for women’s voices created by one of our former singers.”
The anniversary concert also welcomes guest conductors with deep ties to the ensemble. Founding director Jayne Demakos will lead an Eastern European folk song, Shto Mi e Milo, along with Gwyneth Walker’s vibrant setting of the hymn How Can I Keep From Singing?, which serves as the concert’s finale.
“It’s very much set and changed and just made very exciting,” Hovey said of Walker’s arrangement.
Former director Carl Johengen will conduct Evening, set to poetry by Emily Dickinson, as well as his own composition, Skyborn Music, with a text by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Founded in 1991, the chorale has maintained a strong sense of continuity over the decades. “I think there are six of us who’ve been here from the beginning,” Hovey noted.
That longevity reflects the group’s founding mission. “Jane Demakos wanted to create a community of women bound together by a love of singing, but also by personal connection and support,” Hovey explained. “She believed that would lead to performance excellence—and it has.”
Hovey also points to the physical and emotional benefits of choral singing. “When you sing together, hearts tend to beat more in sync, and you produce endorphins that give a sense of pleasure,” she said. “Those are things that are particularly valued.”
The ensemble remains open to new members, with a notably welcoming approach. “There are no auditions,” Hovey said. “You just come to the first couple of rehearsals and see if it feels like a good fit. It’s a very smooth process.”
She added with a smile, “One of our newest members came just to drive her wife to rehearsal, heard us sing, and said, ‘I just had to come back.’”
The Women’s Chorale of Corning performs All the Beautiful Years on Saturday, May 16 at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 171 West Pulteney Street in Corning. For more information about the concert or joining the ensemble, visit Women’s Chorale of Corning at TWCCorning.org.