Nodaway Chorale to answer Cupid’s call
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2-10-17 chorale concerts ART IS COMING THIS AFTERNOON CUTLINE SUBMITTED PHOTO The Nodaway Chorale, now entering its 11th season under the direction of conductor Michael Phillips, will present a Valentine’s concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the First Christian Church in Maryville. Other chorale events this year will include a performance on Sunday, April 30, in the basilica at Conception Abbey.
It shouldn’t be this way, but the Nodaway Chorale — a gifted group of amateur singers that performs under the direction of Maryville resident Michael Phillips — is one of this town’s better kept musical secrets.
Known for its annual Christmas concert at the First United Methodist Church and occasional performances at Conception Abbey, the community choir is nevertheless not usually the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about Maryville’s cultural offerings.
And that’s a shame, since over the past decade, Phillips, a retired airline engineer who holds a music degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has molded the ensemble into a top-notch organization with a dedicated, if relatively small, fan base.
Area residents who haven’t yet heard the chorale in action will have a chance to do so later this month when it presents a special Valentine’s concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the First Christian Church of Maryville, located at 201 W. Third St.
Phillips said the performance is essentially a make-up date for the 2016 Christmas show, which was canceled due to bad weather.
As usual for the chorale, the Valentine’s concert will feature a wide variety of music ranging from works by classical composers to pop music standards. However, Phillips said, this particular program will tilt decidedly toward matters of the heart.
In addition to traditional love songs, the show will also feature well-known Broadway tunes along with a couple of musical surprises. Highlights during the evening will offer recognition of the longest-married couple in the audience and perhaps a newlywed pair or two as well.
Since the chorale’s Christmas concert usually serves as the group’s top fundraiser, the Valentine’s performance will provide audience members with a chance to make free-will donations that will help fund the choir’s upcoming appearance in the Conception Abbey basilica.
That concert is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30, and will include the famous Requiem in D minor by the French composer Gabriel Fauré.
Fundraising is crucial for the group, Phillips said, and the money is used to cover the increasing cost of sheet music, to pay the accompanist, and to buy costumes and equipment, such as a recently purchased set of risers.
The chorale is a 501(c)(3) corporation, and all donations are tax deductible.
But while gifts in support of the choir are always welcome, Phillips said the ensemble offers its services free of charge, and over the years has performed at various events, including graduation ceremonies and the local Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society. It has also sung the national anthem prior to Bearcats basketball games.
“I love working with people in a musical setting,” said Phillips of his long involvement with the chorale, which is made up of 25 to 30 local folks who, like himself, are motivated simply by the mutual thrill of raising their voices together in song.
“It’s my true calling,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of things over the years — worked all over the world — but the chorale has been the most rewarding.”
Phillips also sees himself as something of a teacher and preservationist, noting that he tries to run rehearsals much like a group voice lesson, and that many chorale members join in the first place because they want to become better singers.
He added that choral singing in the classical tradition — for centuries a traditional part of Christian worship services — is in decline due to the increased popularity of praise music, which usually takes the form of repeated verses sung without harmony to rudimentary instrumental accompaniment.
As a result, community choirs like the Nodaway Chorale have had to pick up the torch, and Phillips said about 25,000 such ensembles currently exist in the United States.
“There is certainly a social aspect,” he said. “It becomes a kind of a family. I get very close to the group.”
