Village Singers

THE VILLAGE SINGERS
Come join our non-auditioned community chorus, now in our 22nd year, now under the direction of Valerie Lota. All are welcome to join! Rehearsals are on Mondays at 7:00 pm at St. Peter UCC Church in Lake Zurich (see sidebar on the right.)
All are cordially invited to join in on the fun!

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Monday, May 18, 2015

Goodbye and Godspeed, Tara!

Tara, our dedicated, kindhearted, and proficient accompanist for well over a decade and a half, is retiring to North Carolina.  Her years of service and friendship to our members will be missed as much as her musical talents, and her husband, Shel, has also served faithfully behind the scenes, organizing and running the ticket selling tables, ticket taking, and program distribution at performances



Tara has adapted to over half a dozen different directors’ styles and proficiencies over those years, as well as the styles and idiosyncrasies of numerous soloists and ensembles she’s accompanied.  Tara has also graced our stage numerous times in alto solos and small ensembles and was instrumental in creating the rehearsal CDs we learn from for each concert.  And no doubt her numerous piano students who have studied in her home studio will similarly miss her smile, kind correction, and knowledge. 

Tara was presented with flowers, a silver engraved locket, an autographed group photo, and this plaque which was lovingly handcrafted by one of our members, Ed.




Members also signed our recent group photo...




Here she is being given the silver locket




Thanks, Tara, for all you years of dedication to the Village Singers, for your friendship, your expertise, your substitute directing at rehearsals at the last minute, and for all the joy you've provided!  You have truly been our "heart and soul" and our one constant unifying factor through our succession of chorus directors.  You will be missed!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Performance at The Garlands in Barrington

Yesterday evening we were invited to repeat our "Broadway Rocks!" performance of classic '60s rock songs by the great groups of that era at the prestigious Garlands in Barrington, Illinois. An audience of about 50 retirees enthusiastically enjoyed hearing the hits from their era, though to be truthful, many of us performers were also around during those years!

Here's the entire chorus...





The Shirelles medley sung by Kathy, Barb, and Sonya...



Nancy, Luis, and Helen singing The Beatles' "Yesterday..."




Earl's solo in The Beatles' "Ob La Di, Ob La Da..."




Ken singing "Sloop John B..."




Chuck gets into the audience during "The Jersey Boys Medley..."




Pat's soulful blues rendition of Billie Holiday's "Detour Ahead..."




Pat, Cory, and Rich singing The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby..."




Pat and Jan singing The Beatles' "In My Life..."




Pat, Bobbie, and Cory with "My Boyfriend's Back"...




Dave singing "My Girl" in "Motown Medley"...



Cheryl singing "Mister Postman" in "Motown Medley..."




Martin, our director extraordinaire, singing "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" in "Motown Medley..."



I began the performance with the opening narration for Proud Mary, a song often associated with Ike and Tina Turner, but which was also a staple in Elvis' concerts.





We also sang the songs of The Beatles, The Mama and Papas, Billie Holiday, The Beach Boys, Jersey Boys (The Four Seasons), and Motown.




And last but certainly not least, the extremely talented Tara, our accompanist
 for the last decade and a half or more (and the heart and soul of our group) who is at her final performance with us before retiring to North Carolina. Thanks, Tara, and Godspeed!!!  You will be missed!




Here's an 11 minute abridged version of our 90 minute concert, featuring snippets from all the choruses we sang...



Monday, May 4, 2015

Post-Concert Party!

About 25 of the chorus members met for our post-concert party at Gilmer Road House and enjoyed some fine food, sparkling conversation, as we viewed the video of our concert...














2015 Spring Concert -- Broadway Rocks

Here is our 90 minute concert in 11 minutes -- brief snippets from 28 classic rock and roll songs from the 60's by Elvis, CCR, Tina Turner, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Carole King, The Four Seasons (Jersey Boys,) and various Motown classics...