The Athens County Community choir is performing at Athens Indian Mound Festival.
Many hours of hard work and long practices are leading up to the Athens County Community Choir performing at the Indian Mound Festival this Saturday.
“They do a rehearsal for an hour every Thursday, and the dedication of showing up and doing that on a regular basis will definitely show,” said Jesse Stock the community inclusion specialist for ATCO at Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. “They’ve been rehearsing quite hard.”
Stock said that this group is very well put together and knows how to put on a show which they’ll be debuting this semester Saturday at 3 p.m.
“They will look professional,” Stock said. “It is definitely a professional choir, but also open to the community.”
Founded in 2011, the Athens County Community Choir is described as an ensemble for all voice.
Stock feels that this group is a great way for the singers to get involved in a group that has a strong presence in Athens.
“Not only does it give the (members) confidence in front of their peers, it’s something to work towards goal-oriented,” Stock said. “They are a part of the community, they want to be included in such events so this is one way for them to do so.”
Blane Morris who has Asperger’s syndrome, agrees with Stock’s thinking that the choir is top notch and said his favorite thing about the choir is the tunes.
“I think (the choir) is just great ”said Morris. “The music is the most fun, that’s all there is to it.”
Morris said that he doesn’t have a favorite song that he performs, because there are too many to choose from. He also said that it’s nice to be able to spend time with his mom, who is the founder of this group, while enjoying choir rehearsals.
For the performance on Saturday the choir will be performing many numbers with different themes. Starting with patriotic and ending with the king of pop.
“We’re going to do a variety of songs we’re going to perform some patriotic numbers like the “Star Spangled Banner,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “This Land is Your Land,” said Stephanie Morris, a music therapist and the founder of the group. “We’re also going to do an African American spiritual, “We Shall Overcome,” and we’ve changed some of the words to match what we are, (meaning) that we’re thankful for our abilities and are proud of who we are.”
The group will also play some folk songs and work-type songs including “Whistle While You Work” and “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad.” The concert will finish out with Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie who wrote a song called “We Are The World.”
The choir has doubled in size from what it has been in the previous years.
“So some of them are a little concerned about that. I’m actually quite anxious to see what it’s going to be like to have a group that’s doubled than what we’re use to,” Stephanie said.
Due to the choir doubling in size they split the choir into two different groups that rehearse during different days throughout the week. With half of the group rehearsing at Community Connections and the other half rehearsing at ATCO on Thursday.
With the date coming up quick Stephanie said that the singers — though some are feeling pre-show jitters — can’t wait to be in the spotlight.
“We are excited,” Stephanie said. “I think the community connections people who have never been apart of a performance group before I think there’s a lot of excitement there.”
@annachristine38
ag836912@ohio.edu
