Chorus of Westerly
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Founded in 1959 by George Kent, the Chorus of Westerly is a 200 voice chorus based in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is one of the few choruses in the nation which has children singing alongside adults, and its members' ages range from eight to ninety-four (eight is the minimum age allowed in the chorus). Members of the chorus - all of whom are volunteers - commute from as far as Providence, Hartford and New Haven to practice weekly and perform in the chorus' many concerts. Every year, the chorus performs a serious classical concert in November, a Christmas Pops in December, a celebration of Twelfth Night, at the end of Epiphany, a serious spring concert in May and the Summer Pops, a public, outdoor musical concert held in the town park, in June. The chorus has also gone on tours to the UK twice (1995 being the most recent) and Italy. Recently performed repertoire includes Antonin Dvorak's Requiem, Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Mass in C Minor.
The core of the chorus was originally members of Christ Church, Episcopal, in downtown Westerly, of which George Kent is both organist and choir director. Through the years, the chorus has grown to become quite a social group, whose core aims are enjoying the beauty of choral music, fundraising (primarily via February letter drives and April silent auctions) and providing artistic venues to southern Rhode Island. The Chorus's home is its beautiful George Kent Performance Hall at 119 High Street, the de-consecrated Church of the Immaculate Conception (1886), the first Roman Catholic church in Westerly. The facility was renovated, and a large addition was added in 2005. The hall, which Yoyo Ma has lauded for its acoustic brilliance, is available for rent as a venue for performance arts, parties, and the like. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Chorus also has a summer home at Camp Ogontz, New Hampshire, where its members may enjoy summer vocal repertory classes. In August each summer, the children of the Chorus head to Ogontz for a week of intense and enjoyable musical instruction and camp activities.
