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Community Chorale
Community Chorale
Bursts Onto Scene,
Into Song
As sign-ups for the new Whitworth Community Chorale rolled in early last fall, one thing quickly became clear: More chairs would need to be ordered.
Drawn by the opportunity for an artistic outlet and community connection, over 120 singers of all experience levels and ages – from 12 to the late 80s – registered for the chorale's inaugural season.
"The interest surpassed even our most optimistic expectations," says Professor Ben Brody '98, music department chair.
Directed by Joshua Chism, assistant professor and associate director of choral activities, the chorale's goal is ambitious: to learn a large-scale choral masterwork each semester and perform it in concert. Among those who signed up for the challenge were Whitworth faculty and staff, retirees, current students, and alumni, including several family groupings; and 10 residents of the Rockwood at Whitworth retirement community and their van driver. Dozens of community members with no university connection also joined, including doctors, music educators and church worship musicians.
Renee' Schoening, a director and assistant professor for Graduate Studies in Education, arrived in Spokane and at Whitworth in fall 2022 and says the chorale has been a great way for her to get to know people.
"I think everyone is hungry for a collective experience, especially after enduring the pandemic," Schoening says. "It is wonderful to see people from all walks of life sharing the love of music and creating beautiful sound together."
Community building "is an astronomically important part of what we do in the chorale," Chism says. Although making music together is by nature an active group experience, the "hidden gems" occur during rehearsal downtime.
"I think everyone is hungry for a collective experience, especially after enduring the pandemic."
"Some of our members show up a half-hour early and just sit and talk with each other," he says. "I love when it's 6:30 p.m. and I have to quiet down over 100 people so we can begin."
At the chorale's fall concert, given downtown at a packed First Presbyterian Church of Spokane, the joy from both the singers and the audience was palpable. The chorale delivered a performance of Vivaldi's Gloria that Chism says rivals any community chorale performance from larger universities in terms of quality.
Toward the end of the program, Chism turned to face the captivated audience and urged anyone interested to join the chorale's spring season, which would culminate in a concert at the Fox Theater.
"No experience, some experience, a ton of experience, and everything in between [are welcome]," he said. "If you want to experience community, do it with us."
This story appears in the spring 2024 issue of Whitworth Today magazine.