Laurel Highlands Chorale performing this Sunday, Monday

SOMERSET ― After 34 years of making music together, the Laurel Highlands Chorale is still going strong.

The members will present "A Musical Montage" as the spring concert held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at Somerset Church of the Brethren, Berlin Plank Road near Somerset. Some of the selections include "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," "Morning Has Broken" and "The Birth of the Blues."

"It's still a joy after all these years," said Jan Burkett, who has been the accompanist from December 1992 to May 1994 and again from December 1995 to May 2011 before accepting the position of director with the chorale in May 2011. Rick Showers will serve as an assistant director for this concert along with Burkett.

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Rick Kimmel will serve as accompanist for this concert, while Pam Brant will accompany Kimmel on two musical selections and Arnie McFarland will accompany with guitar for one song. The chorale is often accompanied by Allyn and Brandon Lambert who will add to the concert with their instrumental talents. The chorale is an affiliate of Laurel Arts.

Burkett explained that the chorale celebrated three decades of consistent membership and performances in 2019, but when COVID-19 hit in 2020, some members left and never came back. However, she stressed the current group may not be as large as before the pandemic, but is still dedicated to the continuation of the chorale.

"We perform two concerts a year for the community," Burkett said. "One at Christmas time and another in the spring. The community looks forward to our concerts and we want to continue that tradition. We have a wonderful group who performs well together and we work together as friends."

The group was formed through the efforts of Dick Nicholson, who served as the director from December 1989 to May 1992. In addition to Dick Nicholson being the first director, other directors have been the Rev. Ed Corneilson from December 1992 to May 2003; David Garwood from December 2003 to May 2011; and Burkett from December 2011 to present.

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Accompaniests have been the late Cindy Walker, Jan Burkett, Angela Lyons and Cindy Brant.

In year's past, the chorale has not only held its Christmas and spring concerts but also participated in other events, such as the 9-11 Memorial Service at the Somerset Alliance Church in 2002 and the Flight 93 Memorial Service in 2010. They have also performed throughout Somerset County for several different events, such as a children's charity concert in Meyersdale and benefit concert in Somerset among local festival concerts as well.

In fact, Dorene Friedline of Rockwood, the administrator for the group, still wears her lapel pin (a G-clef) that was handed out to the members at the 9-11 concert in 2002. She remembers how special that concert was to her and the other members. Friedline has been a member for 21 years and organizes just about everything from scheduling to letting everyone know when practices are canceled because of bad weather.

"I joined the chorus when I was younger in school and always enjoyed it. But as I got older, I got away from performing in a group. I always did love a wide range of music from the 1950s and 60s to Beethoven because music makes your day go brighter. Being in this chorale these past several years has been a blessing," said Friedline.

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Burkett and Friedline work very well together and they want to see the chorale continue and become strong again because it is a great service to the community. They welcome anyone who may be interested in joining to give them a call or stop by on Monday evenings when they practice at Somerset Church of the Brethren starting in September for their Christmas concert.

"This is a very special group of people with a long history in the community," Friedline said. "We encourage those with a singing voice to come share with us and give us a call."

For anyone who wants to buy a ticket for the concert or for those who may be interested in joining the group, call Friedline at 814-442-0460 or Burkett at 814-442-1375.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Laurel Highlands Chorale performing this Sunday, Monday