Singing with Sam

“Singing with Sam,” “Singing with people who can really sing, singing good music, and singing it well.”  These were some of the responses offered to what Director Sam Evans and Itasca Community Chorus is doing well.  Saturday, September 12 about fifty members of Itasca Community Chorus convened at Zion Lutheran Church for a full day of rehearsals and community building.  The 60-member choir is in full rehearsal for its first concert of the season Oct. 30 7:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids.  

Throughout the day Sam Evans, Concordia music graduate and intern to Rene Clausen, conducted an intense and fruitful full choir rehearsal interspersed with sectionals lead by Susan Loeffler and  Susan Hoolihan  (sopranos),  Lenora Evans and Darcy Reich (altos); Sam Evans & Stuart Boehr (tenors), and Phil Kneeland and Kathy Goodwin (basses). 

The Itasca Choral Society Board had contracted with Kathy Allen and Lisa Randall to do community building activities with the choir mid-morning and afternoon.   That increased the sense of how much these choir members value each other and the opportunity to sing with Sam.  Among other challenges was the task of having all singers stand on two tarps and turn them over without ever coming in contact with the pavement.  Lunch replete with luscious pie, build-it-yourself sandwiches, and salads was catered by NaNa Chells

Membership in Itasca Community Chorus is closed for now but will reopen in January.  For more information contact itascacommunitychorus@gmail.com.   Membership in the Messiah Choir slated for Dec. 13^th is now open, so start practicing now with one of the collaborating church choirs from Community Presbyterian Church, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church or Zion Lutheran Church for the mass Messiah Choir Dec. 13^th.

Members left singing “How Can I Keep from Singing,” “ Shenandoah,” “Danny Boy,” “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord,” “Swinging with the Saints,”  and other spirituals practiced throughout the day. Singing with Sam is good work and a lot of fun, so plan to join us Oct. 30 at 7:00 pm at the United Methodist Church.  

The activity was funded in part by an Action Team grant from Thrivent Financial.