Chester River Chorale singers entertain audiences in Austria and Germany

On July 2, 2024, 42 members of the Chester River Chorale and their support contingent departed the US, bound for Europe to take part in the Cantus MM Music and Culture Festival Salzburg. The Festival is a yearly event where music and dance ensembles from around the world gather in Salzburg, Austria, to share their artistic talents, donating the proceeds from their public performances to designated charities.

This year the recipient organization was young.hope, a research center for pediatric and adolescent medicine at University Hospital Salzburg. Other groups performing in the festival were from China, Cyprus, California, and Ohio.

The Chester River Chorale, a community chorus based in Chestertown, is well known and loved locally for their entertaining semiannual vocal music performances. With this trip, they became known across the ocean too, as they presented their music to audiences not only in Salzburg, but also in Vienna, Melk, and Munich. The chorale was very fortunate to have the opportunity to perform in many magnificent and richly historic venues such as St. Peter (Alter Peter) in Munich, Germany, Universitatsaula, Mirabell Gardens, and Salzburg Cathedral in Salzburg, Austria, the Melk Abbey Cathedral, in Melk, Austria, and in Vienna, Austria: St. Peter’s Church and the gardens at Schöenbrunn Palace. This summer’s trip not only fulfilled the chorale’s mission to provide inspiration and to entertain diverse audiences, but it served to create and strengthen the bonds of friendship and purpose among the adventurers!

Video recordings of the performances and pictures and stories of their adventures can be seen on the Chester River Chorale’s Facebook page and YouTube page.

Fall Semester 2024 rehearsals start Monday, September 9th at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown
(PCC). Newcomers are welcome on 9/9 and 9/16 to see if the Chester River Chorale is a good fit for you.
Once you decide to join, dues are $75 per semester (students are free). New singers and returning
members alike may pre-register by filling out the singer registration form found on the website:
https://www.chesterriverchorale.org/about/join/

Weekly Rehearsals are on Mondays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, with two holiday concerts at PCC – Friday, December 13th at 7:30 pm; Saturday, December 14th at 4:00 pm and a third holiday concert in conjunction with the Easton Chorale Arts Society on Sunday, December 15th at 3:00 pm at St. Elizabeth’s
Roman Catholic Church, Wilmington, DE.

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The Chester River Chorale is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council. Support is also provided by the Kent Cultural Alliance, the Artistic Insights Fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, the Hedgelawn Foundation, the Rosin Creek Collaborative, the Choptank Electric Trust, and our generous sponsors, patrons, advertisers, and audiences.

The Chorale’s mission is to provide opportunity, education, and inspiration for amateur singers to strive for artistic excellence entertaining diverse audiences and enriching the cultural life of the community. The repertoire is varied and expansive, including classic favorites as well as works from living and underrepresented composers. As a community choir, open to all, the CRC includes singers with professional music experience, all the way to singers who do not read music.

Teenagers to octogenarians come together through a love of singing, learning new music, and expanding their musical skills. If you love to sing, the Chorale welcomes you.

More information about the Chester River Chorale can be found at: https://www.chesterriverchorale.org. Go to the Contact page and fill in your contact information to receive Chester River Chorale updates.