IVCC Choir seeks community singers

Audiences will get a chance to hear Illinois Valley Community College’s choir perform twice this season.

The IVCC Choir and Ottawa High School’s choir will join with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra in celebrating IVSO’s 75th anniversary in a concert Saturday, Dec. 14, in the Ottawa High auditorium. The concert, conducted by IVSO Director Dan Sommerville, begins at 4 p.m. Visit ivso.org for ticket information.

The IVCC Choir also will perform its annual concert at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, in the IVCC Cultural Centre. Admission is free.

IVCC Choir Director Jenilyn Roether is inviting singers from the community to perform in the regular choir and for the special performance. The performance will require strong musicians who are prepared to learn music on their own at home, she said.

Regular choir rehearsals begin Aug. 26, and the IVSO performance rehearsals will begin Oct. 21.

IVCC’s choir meets from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays (except holidays) in Main Campus Room D223. No experience is necessary, and anyone 16 and older can join.

“Singing in a group is a proven way to improve your health and mood,” Roether said. “Our choir is very welcoming of new singers, as we are all here with the same goals in mind.”

The IVSO concert will feature Roether, a soprano, on selected movements from Handel’s “Messiah.” The IVCC Choir will sing select movements from Handel’s “Messiah” including “And the Glory of the Lord,” “Glory to God” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.” In addition, it also will sing the Shaw/Bennett “Many Moods of Christmas – Suite 1;” “This Little Babe” by Benjamin Britten; and “Long Ago” (In the Bleak Midwinter), arranged by Jacob Narverud.

Roether said she is excited for the collaboration and proud of how the IVCC Choir has grown and expanded in the past few years. Email jenilyn_roether@ivcc.edu to join or for more information.