Valley choir to hold fundraising event at the Limelight
BY DANA DUGAN
Some say singing is a form of therapy that bonds a group together and lifts spirits. In fact, scientific evidence has shown that singing influences many activities vital to our wellbeing. This is why singing groups, such as the Wood River Valley-based Caritas Chorale, have proven so popular.
Founded locally in 1999, by Dick Brown, a Southern transplant to the Wood River Valley, Caritas Chorale will celebrate its 20th anniversary, Sunday, Sept. 8, with a Roaring ’20s party at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The event will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music from the 1920s in the lounge, with a sit-down dinner to follow in the lecture hall.
The short concert will featured such tunes as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “It’s Ragtime,” “Bye, Bye Blackbird” and “Anything Goes,” conducted by musical director R.L. Rowsey.
The raffle will include a Sun Valley ski pass for the upcoming season, a weekend for six at a log home in Stanley, a guided fishing trip on the Salmon River, a fabric art wall hanging, a night’s stay with breakfast for two at The Grove Hotel in Boise, and dinner for eight in your home, catered by Judith McQueen Entertaining. Raffle tickets will be sold at Atkinsons’ Market in advance as well as that evening.
When Brown arrived to be musical director at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, a package was put together to lure him here that also included being musical director at the Community School in Sun Valley. He’d already formed a version of Caritas Chorale, known as the Choral Rendezvous, in Challis, and simply moved that organization to the Valley. It has grown in popularity and outreach over the past two decades.
“I think he came out of the womb with a baton in his hand,” Rowsey said, laughing. “He’s a man with a deep passion for community music.”
Membership to Caritas Chorale is open to anybody in the community who wants to sing great choral music. In fact, many members began with little musical experience but have developed musical skills through the Chorale.
Rowsey joined just after moving to the Valley from Richmond, Va., in 2000.
“I was singing in the bass section, happy as a lark back there,” he said. “Then I started playing piano when Chip Mills or Jim Watkinson needed a sub, and then fill in as conductor for Dick. Then, when he left town to (sort of) retire in Montana, I took over. When your work is your passion, you never stop.”
Rowsey could be talking about himself, as well as Brown. He is involved in numerous theatrical and musical concerns, including artistic director of the Sun Valley Music Festival Music Institute, a founding member of Company of Fools, and the musical director at Light on the Mountains Spiritual Center. His performing days aren’t over, either. He will appear as Tevya in St. Thomas Playhouse’s production, which will open Sept. 19. His wife, Goldie, will be played by Cherie Kessler, a singer with Caritas Chorale.
For the Roaring ’20s party, there will be approximately 50 singers participating. The number of singers with Caritas varies from concert to concert, depending on the time of year, Rowsey said.
“A good number are retired, so their schedules are totally flexible,” he said. “We try to structure things so that’s it’s a guilt-free organization. We really have two components that are important: rehearsals and concerts.”
The rehearsals are to prepare, but just as “importantly, it’s to get together and sing,” Rowsey said.
Then, there are three to four shows a year, mostly matinees.
“Maybe choirs should just take over the world,” Rowsey said, laughing. “If a chord sounds wrong, we stop and fix it. I’m fascinated by the possibility that we could just get along. I love to share music with others, but rehearsals are a great outing for us.”
Caritas Chorale members also support and work on projects with singers at Wood River High School, who have also been invited to sing at concerts.
“We’re the busiest small town in America,” Rowsey said, with a twinkle in his eye. “This Roaring ’20s party will be a fun, good time. As a fundraiser, it’s one of the most eclectic because it’s very diverse. And this is important because it represents a good portion of our operating budget.”
For reservations and information, contact Margie Gould at (208) 726-5811 or email caritassunvalley@yahoo.com.