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It’s a Tuesday evening in Ely, and a group of people of varying ages start to gather. Their ages range from high school students and recent graduates to people in their 70s and 80s and every age in between. Soon, the laughter and friendly conversation subsides, and the sounds of voices singing in harmony rises in the room, the rehearsal is beginning!
This gathering of singers and instrumentalists comprise the Ely Community Choir directed by Mike Rouse. They are rehearsing the new cantata, “Love Is Born” for a public performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Ely First Presbyterian Church.
“Love Is Born” is a new work freshly published this year by the well known composer, Lloyd Larson. As an aside, Larson was a classmate of Rouse at Anderson University and now resides in the Minneapolis area.
“Love Is Born” is a musical journey from dark to light; from hopelessness to fulfilled promise. This musical is a blending of original and familiar melodies that underscore the timeless message of the birth of Jesus and His message of hope, peace, joy, and love.
The Ely Community Choir consists of 33 vocalists of all ages and a small chamber orchestra of five local instrumentalists. The choir and orchestra would like to thank the Ely Presbyterian Church for the use of their facility for this performance.
This will also be the premier for the newly formed Ely Community Youth Choir. This small group of enthusiastic elementary singers will open the concert with one or two selections of their own and then join the adult choir for one song in the cantata.
Admission to this performance will be by donation at the door. Any donations will be greatly appreciated to help offset the considerable cost of the scores, the orchestration, and advertising.
They are also looking for donors who would be interested in helping secure the longevity of the Ely Community Choir. This is the choir’s second performance in the last few months.
This summer, the choir and chamber orchestra performed “The Song Everlasting,” a cantata based on American Folk songs.
Ely First Presbyterian Church helped purchase the music for last summer’s concert, and Rouse and his wife Billie have shouldered the expense for “Love Is Born.” They look forward to many more performances for our community over the next months and years.
If you are interested in donating to the Ely Community Choir or joining the choir, you can contact them at [email protected] for more details.
