Christmas concert marks a milestone

OZAUKEE CHORUS Chairman Frank Gedelman stood next to founding member Helen Waldschmidt during a rehearsal Tuesday for the group’s holiday concert this Saturday at Grafton High School. The 60-member chorus is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Photo by Sam Arendt
Ozaukee Chorus is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and its Christmas concert on Saturday marks a milestone for the group.
The chorus will share the stage in the Grafton High School auditorium at 7 p.m. Saturday with Woodview Elementary School students for a concert titled “A Christmas Blessing.”
It’s a fitting title, chorus Chairman Frank Gedelman said.
“There aren’t too many community groups that last this long,” he said, adding that’s especially true of community choruses, which have declined in popularity as people’s lives become busier and busier.
“I feel like anything that’s lasted 50 years has some staying power.”
Saturday’s concert will include a variety of music, primarily non-traditional Christmas songs, Gedelman said.
“We’re singing a whole bunch of music you’re not going to hear on the radio,” he said. “It’s not ‘Deck the Halls.’”
The concert will include tunes such as “Believe” from “The Polar Express,” “Merry Christmas Darling,” a song made popular by the Carpenters in the early 1970s, “The Gift” and a series of songs about Mary.
The Christmas concert is one of two concerts held each year by the chorus, and Gedelman said the spring concert follows a theme selected by the chorus director, who is currently Randy Hilgers.
Themes have included Broadway tunes, “American Bandstand” featuring music from the 1960s and ’70s — “We had so much fun with that,” Gedelman said, noting many chorus members came of age during that time — patriotic music, Disney tunes, love songs and the Great American songbook.
The breadth of music is part of the chorus’ attraction, Gedelman said.
“When I was growing up, singing in high school and church choirs, I didn’t get a chance to sing the Beatles and John Denver and the Four Seasons,” he said.
The group sings virtually all genre of music, Gedelman said, although when asked about rap he said quickly, “You’re kidding, right? We’re mostly 60 and 70-year-olds. About the craziest we get is we might throw in a little choreography.”
The chorus got its start in 1975, when Helen Waldschmidt, who had moved to Grafton six months earlier, was looking for an avenue to sing.
There wasn’t one in the area, but she talked to Grafton High choral director Lou Cisto, who was willing to direct a group if one were to organize.
Waldschmidt put out a call for members, and the Community Chorus, as it was known then, held its first rehearsal that September with 115 members. It was sponsored by the Grafton Recreation Department.
In 1976, the group became an independent organization known as the Grafton Community Chorale. The name changed to the Ozaukee Community Chorale in 1979 and to Ozaukee Chorus in 1981.
The chorus is comprised of “a whole bunch of us who just like to sing,” Gedelman said.
But it’s more than just singing that attracts people to the chorus, he said.
“It’s a fun time to get together,” Gedelman said, noting that the 60 members who range from high school students to senior citizens — including Waldschmidt — have found a community in the chorus.
“We’ve made some close friendships,” Gedelman said of the group. “Our Tuesday nights don’t end when rehearsals end.”
Smaller groups often head out after practice and indulge in “adult beverages” and perhaps a meal after rehearsal, he said.
Even during the summer months, when the group doesn’t hold rehearsals, they find a way to stay in touch, he said.
“There’s a bunch of us who still get together on Tuesday nights for a few beverages and dinner,” Gedelman said.
And a number of members continue their musical journey in summer, participating in the Port Summer Theatre, he said.
Anyone who wants to be part of the chorus may apply, Gedelman said. The ability to read music is a plus but not required, he said, but the ability to carry a tune “helps.”
Many members of the chorus were recruited by others, he said, noting he had a neighbor “who kept after me to join.” He begged off initially since he was also serving as a Cub Scout leader, but after his son left Scouting his neighbor ramped up his recruitment efforts.
It paid off. Gedelman has been a member of the group for about 32 years.
Members pay $35 a year in dues, money that, along with admission paid for concerts and sponsorships, is used to pay for the chorus’ director, assistant director and accompanist.
The funds also help finance the chorus’ annual scholarships. Each year, the chorus awards $1,000 scholarships to one student from each of the county’s five high schools. In return, the students perform with the group at a concert.
The chorus has awarded around $100,000 in scholarships since the program began, Gedelman said, creating a lasting legacy.
Admission to Saturday’s concert is $8, with children younger than 12 admitted free. A sign language interpreter will be on hand.
More information about the chorus and applications to the group can be found online at www.ozaukeechorus.org/become-a-members.
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