Starting its 90th season, Ridgewood Choral has lots to sing about

The Ridgewood Choral women's chorus celebrated the start of its 90th anniversary season on Oct. 22 with a special luncheon where it announced the creation of a $1,200 award for vocal excellence in honor of its current music director, Marjorie Vandervoort.

“The board has been aware for some time that in this competition vocalists are often at a disadvantage due to the fact that teenage vocalists have immature instruments,” said Scholarship Awards Chair Deb Goddell. “We thought it time to recognize the amazing talent of the vocalists who audition.”

Vandervoort was stunned and honored upon learning of the award in her name. “I think one of the finest things the Ridgewood Choral has done is the scholarships,” she said. “They’ve given substantial amounts of money and assistance to young people going on with their music after high school.”

This is Vandervoort’s 25th year serving as musical director of the chorus. “I’m delighted to have been with them for so long,” she said. “It’s so much fun.”

The Ridgewood Choral continues to bestow its Florence Reinauer Memorial Music Award of $2,500 in recognition of excellence in vocal or instrumental performance. It will hold auditions for both awards on March 3, 2018. Winners also have the opportunity to perform at the annual spring concert.

The chorus was founded by Frank Kasschau in 1928. The group performs a variety of musical genres, including baroque, classical, Broadway and contemporary. “Over the past 90 years, the Ridgewood Choral's mission has remained constant: women in song and service,” said 90th Anniversary Committee Chair Mary Boggia.

Members are community-minded, contributing funds over the years to such projects as the Kasschau Memorial Shell and the purchase of a grand piano for Benjamin Franklin Junior High School.

The ability to enhance her skills as a director while assisting members in developing their vocals has fueled Vandervoort’s longtime commitment to the group. “As I help them grow, I’m growing myself and learning many things about how to get the effect in the music that one wants,” she said.

Ridgewood Choral Publicity Chair Frances Kaufmann credits Vandervoort for selecting music that’s interesting, challenging and different from the norm. “The thread that’s kept the Ridgewood Choral together for 90 years is the love of making music,” she said. “A special camaraderie develops in the process of learning and mastering each piece.”

The Ridgewood Choral currently has about 45 members, many of whom are village residents. They rehearse on Friday mornings at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood.

Lorraine Heffernan has been singing with the Ridgewood Choral for 42 years and is the longest tenured member. “A most compelling reason for staying with the group is the abiding sense of friendship that continues through the years among us singers,” she said. “I hope to be able to sing for many more years.”

Laura Van Orden, a featured soloist with a background in opera, is the group’s youngest member. “I enjoy the wide variety of music that we perform and even pieces written specifically for the Ridgewood Choral,” she said. “The women who sing with the group have become some of my favorite people.”

Choral members look forward to performances and some members describe the rehearsals as the highlight of their week. “They find it so releasing,” Vandervoort said. “There’s a bubbling happiness that’s waiting to come out when they sing.”

A shared personal investment in expression through song brings everyone in the Ridgewood Choral together. “It’s the human aspect of making music that keeps me and them going,” Vandervoort said. “It’s about who we are as human beings and what we can say about our human condition through music.”

The Ridgewood Choral is a not-for-profit organization that’s funded through the support of associate members, friends and concert audiences. For more information on the Ridgewood Choral, visit ridgewoodchoral.org.