PORT TOWNSEND — Singers in the Rain, a men’s choral group, will be featured in its eighth return engagement at the May Candlelight Concert at 7 p.m. Thursday at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Admission will be by a suggested $10 donation to benefit Port Townsend charitable organizations; children will be admitted free to the concert in the church at 609 Taylor St.
Refreshments will be served following the performance.
The 12-member group began as a voice and sight-singing class for men, taught by mezzo-soprano Sydney Keegan and music educator and director Hazel Johnson.
The men enjoyed their work together so much that they decided to give a public performance of the repertoire they were learning.
They voted to give themselves the name Singers in the Rain, and were invited back for a second year.
They are now regular May performers in the Candlelight series. This year Johnson will both conduct and accompany the men on piano.
Each year, Johnson and Keegan choose a musical theme and a study focus for the group.
This year’s theme is “Music for Peace and Harmony.” They will concentrate on voice techniques such as tuning intervals, especially triads, and working with close harmony.
The first half part of the concert comprises numbers with the theme of peace, including “A Song of Peace,” based on Sibelius’s “Finlandia theme,” and “Et in Terra Pax” by the contemporary composer Mary Lynn Lightfoot.
A group of old-time popular favorites and barbershop numbers then will bring close harmony to the foreground.
Two outstanding items in this group will be “Baby Face” and “May You Always,” organizers said.
Rounding out the evening will be several solos and small ensemble numbers.
The choristers have brought a wide range of abilities and backgrounds to the group. Experienced musicians such as composer-actor-singer David Schroeder work side by side with men who admit to singing only in the shower.
They come together to sing, learn and improve, have fun, and enjoy connecting with other men in an atmosphere of playful creativity.
Each Monday evening meeting includes a minimum of 30 minutes of intensive vocal skills practice.
The singers also receive training in sight-singing, and their monthly tuition entitles them to as much one-on-one work as a singer feels that he needs.
Singers in the Rain is committed to the growth of its membership both as choristers and individual singers, and extends an invitation to men in the community to join the group.
Any man who can match pitches and is interested in developing his voice and his musicianship is eligible: no prior experience required.
Call 360-774-1644 or email rdanpurnell@msn.com for further information.
