Published Saturday, February 22, 2003
ensembles from 13 churches
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Sunday's Ecumenical Choir Festival will be much bigger than Raymond Ocock envisioned.
"We invited everybody and we were expecting five or six," said the director of music for Christian Associates of the Shenango Valley, which organized the festival. "We got 13."
The concert opens at 4 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, Sharon.
The host church's choir will perform, as will those from Christ Lutheran Church, First United Methodist Church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, East Side (Baptist) Church -- Disciples of Christ, St. Joseph's Church, St. John's Episcopal Church and St. John's Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church, all Sharon; Pentecostal House of Prayer, Farrell; and St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Notre Dame Church, Hickory United Methodist Church and Living Word Church, all Hermitage.
Christian Associates, an inter-denominational group of ministers and others, had held a choir festival about a decade ago, and the time lag was a reason to bring it back, said Ocock, director of music at First Presbyterian.
He said choir members often don't get to hear other choirs, except at events such as the festival.
Observing other choirs can spark ideas for songs and styles that they might be able to try with their own ensembles, he said.
"We think it's a good idea for choirs to hear each other, hear different styles," he said.
Covenant Presbyterian has the largest choir with about 30 members, while the smallest groups have eight to 10 singers, he said. Some perform a cappella, while others are accompanied by piano, organ or a small ensemble.
Because of the large numbers of choirs, each one will only get to sing two songs.
"We wanted to do songs we do well and would be interesting to others," Ocock said. "Our choir is excited about it and I think all of them are."
At the end of the concert, audience members will be invited to join the combined members of all the choirs to sing "God of Grace and God of Glory."
Admission is free but an offering will be taken, with the proceeds going to Community Food Warehouse.