The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale (Photo courtesy CVMWC)
The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this coming January. The Ashland-based chorale, which is comprised of more than 40 singers from Ashland, Richmond, Midlothian and Henrico, has begun rehearsals for their upcoming December concerts, where Chorale President Becky Severin says they’ll be celebrating the holidays alongside their audience.
“Especially in our winter concert, we like to do several pieces that involve the audience, because you just can’t have a winter concert that close to Christmas and not ask people to enjoy it with you,” says Severin.
The Dec. 16 concert, titled “Sing We Joyous All Together,” will be the first of two concerts in the chorale's winter season that they will perform in the Ashland and Richmond city area.
The show will be directed by Dr. Ryan Tibbetts and will feature musical accompaniment from local organist Daniel Stipe.
The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale (CVMC) was founded in 2007 by William Gorton, who moved to the area from California and was looking to form a choir group. When Severin heard of the group, she joined, and she’s coming up on a 10th anniversary of her own working with the CVMC. “He was looking for folks who would be interested in doing a little bit more than church music,” says Severin.
CVMC’s first show was with the Randolph-Macon College Concert Choir, where they performed Mozart’s “Réquiem.” As a part of their 10th anniversary celebration, they’ll be performing the piece again in their spring concerts.
The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale performs "Sing Glory" at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church in Ashland. (Photo courtesy CVAMC)
The group performs in Ashland and Richmond each season, with two concerts in December and two more in May. For their Ashland shows, they always perform at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, where they first began a decade ago. On Dec. 16, they’ll be performing “Sing We Joyous All Together” at the Church of the Holy Comforter on Monument Avenue. The second concert will be Dec. 18 at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church in Ashland.
“Our upcoming holiday concert will feature themes of hope, joy, peace and merriment,” says Severin. “We have quite a following; we always enjoy singing to a full house.”
Those interested in joining the Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale can join their rehearsals every Monday evening from 7 to 9:15 pm at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, 201 Henry Street in Ashland.
