Love to sing? Join us!

The College-Community Chorus comprises Middlebury College students, staff and faculty, and singers from towns and villages throughout Addison County and across the lake in New York State. The Chorus, numbering nearly 100 singers, is open without audition to all singers (high school age and up) who can follow along a musical score and sing a melody accurately. The Chorus is conducted by Jeff Rehbach, now in his twelfth season leading the group, and accompanied by George Matthew, Jr., who also serves as carillonneur of Middlebury College.

Regular rehearsals: Sunday / Tuesday evenings, for our spring season.
New or returning members are welcome to join through February.
7-8:30 pm, Mead Chapel

For more information, please contact:
Jeff Rehbach, Chorus Conductor, at 989-7355 rehbach @ middlebury.edu
Barbara Merz, Chorus Manager, at 443-5356  merz @ middlebury.edu

2011/2012 season

A Thanksgiving Celebration

Saturday, November 19, 2011, 7:00 pm
Federated Church, Rochester, VT
Sunday, November 20, 2011, 3:00 pm
Mead Chapel, Middlebury College

Annual Messiah Sing
Sunday, December 18, 2:00 pm
Middlebury Congregational Church

Welcome Spring -- a concert for Mother's Day
Saturday evening, May 12, 2012, 7:30 pm
Rochester Federated Church, Rochester, VT
Donations support ongoing recovery from Tropical Storm Irene
Sunday evening, May 13, 2011, 3:00 pm
Mead Chapel, Middlebury College

Our Spring 2012 program

We offer a potpourri of music past and present for our annual May concert that falls on Mother's Day weekend. In the 1690s, English composer Henry Purcell wrote special musical odes each year for Queen Mary's April 30th birthday. We will present choruses from Come, Ye Sons of Art, written in 1694, with its invitation to "come, come away, ye Sons of Art, tune all your voices and instruments play to celebrate this triumphant day." About 100 years later, Franz Joseph Haydn acknowledged the request of Empress Marie Therese, wife of Franz I of Austria, for church music, with his delightful setting and performance of the traditional Latin text Te Deum. This work was largely unknown until some fifty years ago, and we look forward to sharing it this spring.
We will also present several newly composed works, including Prayer, based on writings of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, by Minnesota conductor-composer René Clausen, and an inspiring version of Ubi caritas by Norwegian-born composer Ola Gjeilo. We offer new arrangements of classic poems and texts: Morning has Broken arranged by British composer Bob Chilcott; a Welsh Lullaby (Suo Gan) set by American composer K. Lee Scott; Afternoon on a Hill (Edna St. Vincent Millay) by another Minnesota conductor-composer, Eric Barnum; The Moon is Distant from the Sea (Emily Dickinson) by New Zealand native David N. Childs; and Omnia Sol (Let Your Heart Be Staid) by American composer and lyricist Z. Randall Stroope that incorporates lyrics from the medieval song, Carmina Burana.
We also feature two stirring songs by Vermont composers about Vermont, Counterpoint conductor Nathaniel Lew's arrangement of These Green Mountains by Diane Martin, and My Vermont, a chorale for voices and piano by Rutland composer-teacher-conductor Daniel Graves.

Our 2011 Thanksgiving Program

The Chorus presented its annual fall concert the weekend before Thanksgiving, this year with themes of thanksgiving and remembrance.

We acknowledged the passing of ten years since 9/11, and the sufferings of so many locally from tropical storm Irene, with a special set of music including "Let Nothing Ever Grieve Thee" by Johannes Brahms; "There is a Season" by Albany, NY organist and composer Alfred Fedak, based on the text from Ecclesiastes; "Kyrie" by Concordia College composer-conductor René Clausen, written as part of the larger work "Memorial" commemorating the tragic events of 9/11; and, the powerful opening movement of Mozart's "Requiem" that includes the traditional Latin text "Rest eternal grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them."

We celebrated singing and offering thanks with a variety of songs, including "Dreamer of Dreams" with poetry by Arthur O'Shaugnessy set to music by Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker: "We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams" alongside American composer Debra Scroggins' setting of Edgar Allen Poe's "A Dream within a Dream." We sang of the delights of the season with British composer-arranger Bob Chilcott's setting the traditional Thanksgiving hymn "Now Thank We." We also presented the joyful "Let the People Praise Thee" by Welsh composer William Matthias, and British composer-conductor John Rutter's "This is the Day" written, respectively, for royal weddings of Charles and Diana, and William and Kate.

We closed the program with the thanksgiving "Hymn for America" by Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus, and rousing gospel setting of "Let Everything that Hath Breath" by American composer Jeffery Ames.

Middlebury's Annual Messiah Sing

Dec, 18, 2011, at 2:00pm at the Middlebury Congregational Church (corner of Route 7 and Main St.)

For more than 25 years, friends and neighbors travel to downtown Middlebury to participate in the Messiah Sing, sponsored by the College Community Chorus and led by its conductor, Jeff Rehbach.

Once again this year the tradition continues! Music scores are provided (or bring your own!) for singers; if you play a string instrument, flute/oboe, bassoon, or baroque trumpet, orchestra parts are also available at the reading. Donation requested at the door ($5 adult / $10 family).

In addition to choruses, some of the arias from the work are sung by members of our community, including, in 2011, Jessica Allen, Leila McVeigh, Grace Weber, sopranos; Heidi Willis, alto; Francois Clemmons, tenor; Joe McVeigh, Jeff Buettner, basses. And, each year, the reading features a harpsichord made by Robert Hicks of Lincoln, VT, this year played by Cynthia Huard.

For more information, contact Jeff Rehbach at rehbach@middlebury.edu or 802.989.7355 (feel free to leave a message).

Choral selections at the reading include:
And the glory of the Lord
And he shall purify
O thou that tellest
For unto us a child is born
Glory to God
Surely he hath borne our grief
All we like sheep
Lift up your heads
Hallelujah
Since by man came death
Worthy is the Lamb...Amen