Love of singing keeps Middleport Community Choir going for 25 years

Photos by Ginny Kropf: This group has been a member of the Middleport Community Choir since its founding 25 years ago. From left are Sarah Shanley, Doris Hinkson, Joy Bohnet, Carol Blumerick, Kelly Eick and accompanist Debby Clark (front).

Group doing joint performances with Festival Chorus from St. Benedict’s in Amherst

MIDDLEPORT – The Middleport Community Choir’s spring concert will be joint performance with the Festival Chorus from St. Benedict’s in Amherst.

The Community Choir’s director, Ric Jones of Medina, first became acquainted with the director of the Festival Chorus, Heather Lovelace, at a rehearsal of the Genesee Chorale, which Jones also directs. After talking with her, the idea for a joint concert was born.

The concert, titled “Music Changes the World,” will be performed at 7 p.m. May 5 at St. Benedict’s, 1317 Eggert Rd., Buffalo, and at 4 p.m. May 7 at Hartland Bible Church in Gasport.

Ric Jones of Medina leads the Middleport Community Choir in rehearsal for their spring concert titled “Music Changes the World.” The choir will put on a joint performance this year with the Festival Chorus from St. Benedict’s in Amherst. Performances are on May 5 at St. Benedict’s, 1317 Eggert Rd., Buffalo, and on May 7 at Hartland Bible Church in Gasport.

In addition to the two choirs, the Beltones, led by Middleport Community Choir accompanist, will also perform, and celloist Gil Pease, brother of Middleport Choir member Carol Blumerick, will be featured.

The concert will feature music which honors America and its people, Jones said.

“We wanted to do something patriotic, which touched on social justice,” Jones said. “We found ourselves discovering how you can change through music. Our music is a mix of very familiar and patriotic songs.”

One is  Bob Dylan’s rendition of “The Times They Are A-Changing.” The concert will also include “God Bless America.”

Another highlight will be two pieces with narration by a member of the Festival Chorus, one using text on the Statue of Liberty and the other using excerpts from Martin Luther King’s speeches.

At least six singers and accompanist Debby Clark of Lockport have been members of the Middleport Community Choir since its founding 25 years ago. They are Joy Bohnet of Lyndonville, Carol Blumerick and Doris Hinkson of Middleport, Kelly Eick of Medina, Carol Shanley and Mark Christensen of Lockport.

Their love of music and singing is what keeps them coming, they said.

Bohnet loves to sing and all through school and later in life, she was always the accompanist, she said. Now she gets to do what she loves.

“And the social aspect is big,” she said.

Blumerick and Eick added they love singing and the friends they’ve made.

The concert will feature 70 singers, songs by the Middleport choir, two songs by the combined choirs and a piece by the bell choir.

The Middleport Community Choir rehearses at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evenings at the Methodist Church in Middleport. New voices are always welcome.