Welcome everybody to Midday Magazine for this Monday,
November 18th, 2024.
Have your host, James Jamail off here.
In part one today, we're going to be speaking with
the Wisconsin Area Community Choir.
We have in with us, Joni Wolf.
Joni, thank you for being here.
Thank you, James.
Appreciate the time. Good to see you.
We have Pastor Caleb McGregor with us.
Caleb, thank you for being here.
Absolutely. Thank you.
Appreciate the time from both of you.
Not just with me and putting up with my questions and everything,
but what you guys do for the community and the entertainment and value
you bring to our community, we really do appreciate it.
And love being able to talk with you guys today.
Great way to kick off our week here at Midday Magazine.
Appreciate that.
I want to get into, if you don't mind first,
for those that don't know, the community choir's history,
if we could.
Who would like to lead that one?
Joni, you got that, all right, cool.
What could you tell us about the history of the choir, Joni?
Okay, rehearsals began in the fall of 2004,
and we were meeting at the Center, Wisconsin Cultural Center.
At the time, the conductors were Sid Cooper and Julian Stoltz.
And the accompanist was Sarah Rifleman,
and the choir began with around 10 people.
The first public concert was held on May 21, 2006
at the First Congregational Church.
And then as the choir outgrew the space at the Cultural Center,
they moved the rehearsals to First Congregational Church,
and they also moved funds to encourage community foundation.
Changes in leadership over the years,
Julian left the group and was then Josh Ulrich, became the co-conductor.
Sarah Rifleman, when she was done, Mary Engler,
became the accompanist, and Mary is fantastic.
In fall of 2023, they added three new co-directors,
our original director, Sid Cooper, was joined by Vicki Dresser,
Jan Dykstra, and Seth Peterson.
And then in this fall, as Seth now moved away to the lovely state of Georgia,
and it has been replaced with Jennifer Paul Vermacher.
And the choir was not able to meet back in 2020, it looks like.
That is correct.
Yeah, now what happened with that?
Something went on during that time.
Just can't see, no, of course.
We all remember what went on during that time.
There are a lot of things I did.
Yeah, Caleb, a couple of things happened.
2020 through 2022 during the pandemic, but besides that, the choir has been practicing
and holding their concerts every fall and winter nonstop since what they began.
With towns like ours and most rural communities over there, people come,
people leave, and such.
So the changes with the choir are interesting.
I think the consistency of the work and the rehearsal times and so much of that,
it really seems like that has stayed in place, Joni.
I agree.
Yes.
I'm relatively due to the choir.
I started what a year ago,
and not only been to a couple concerts so far, but I love it.
I can tell.
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's fantastic.
And thank you, you kind of just led right into where I wanted to go next, Joni,
how you both got involved with the choir, and kind of, I will let the audience know.
I'm bringing this up one because I always find these things interesting.
But also, you guys out there listening might be able to join the choir, be interested
in joining the choir.
So this might give you a little bit incentive or an idea of how you can.
So, Joni, you mentioned it was about a year ago, you joined?
Right.
A year or two, um, no, I'm not quite sure.
Somewhere around there.
A year or two last two years or so, but recently, as you mentioned.
Right.
Are you one of the more recent members?
I am.
Okay.
I was part of the choir at Lincoln High School.
I was a music major when I went to college.
And then, um, I attend Christian, I fellowship.
And we had a very big choir at that, uh, when I was there.
And we do Christmas musicals, Easter musicals.
We did the dinner theaters, and I was a part of all of that.
And then there was a change in leadership.
We are our pastoral staff changed, and that all went by the wayside.
It was hard on me.
I missed that was a huge part of my life.
And, um, somebody told me I should give community choir a try.
And it is fabulous.
And I'm so glad that I'm there.
We have so much fun.
It's really good to hear.
That's, that's fantastic.
You know, there's so many people out there.
You mentioned a couple of things that I think a lot of people come relate to.
You know, going to school for music or having a passion to love for music.
And we get older and kind of, well, we don't have a lot of avenues to,
to kind of, for an outlet for that, uh, to use those kind of things.
That's right.
This is a wonderful resource for that.
Uh, I think that's a great part of it.
And, uh, Caleb, you, uh, of course, I want to get to know how you got involved in this as well.
But one of the things that stands out to me when I prepping for this interview
and talking about it, learning a little more about the choir itself,
got me, uh, down a rabbit hole of choirs in general.
And how much, um, that, uh, people love, uh, to be able to sing with their faith,
that they love that combination of things.
And how much, not only that can, like, transition into just, you know,
good feelings and good energy, but how much, uh,
the two worlds are intertwined faith and singing and such.
And it's something I didn't really think too much about, honestly, uh, until recently.
Right. And I think when we think back even centuries ago,
I mean, the church was the, the major, uh, benefactor for music.
And some of our great, um, pieces that we know classically, uh,
even Bach, who, who had to write a new piece every single week for the upcoming service.
I mean, that is a, a challenge I would not want to put on anybody.
I tried to, uh, have a musician in my church do that once, but it didn't work out.
Uh, because I wouldn't do that either.
But that's absolutely true. I mean, music and, uh, you know,
for somebody that myself who has an undergraduate degree in music,
any chance to be able to, um, to use that in a community group is, is, um, really great.
Because, um, for a while, uh, music was homework, music was sort of, you know, a job.
And, but to be able to do that, um, and have fun with it with a group of people who are,
amateurs like yourself, which actually makes it fun.
I mean, and, and we do make, uh, uh, not only a joyful noise,
but, uh, just wonderful music when we get together.
Yeah. Um, how did you get involved with this, uh, Caleb?
Somebody asked me because when, especially when you're male and you have a little bit of a
musical talent, you're going to get roped in to anything and everything.
And, and I, um, and what's really great is when, uh, people ask not just once,
because I think the first time I had to say no, or I thought about it, but, um,
there were enough people who, uh, pulled me along enough.
They said, yeah, I should, you know, think about this.
And, uh, that's how I got started.
And, uh, you know, I've done this for, um, a couple of years now and I've started.
And there were, there were a few, few years that I could not finish.
I started the, the rehearsals, but I could not make it to, um, the concert time
because things snowballed in my, uh, in my schedule.
And so it is a gracious thing that, um, if you don't know,
how your schedule is going to play out just, you know, just begin, it's, it's not, um,
it doesn't have to be that kind of, uh, I don't want to say it.
The commitment, but sure, sure.
And so they're, they're very gracious and what's also great is if anyone's kind of nervous
about being the, uh, a new person.
This isn't a, a closed group because, uh, I was new,
Joni was new, but then by the next year, there's enough new people that you're no longer
new anymore.
And so it takes the pressure off of you after that first year.
And there's always, in fact, there's, um, more people this year to the point,
this is the largest that the group has ever been to the point that we ran out of music
folders, which is a blessing to have.
So, um, it's great to have that.
I, I love when adults are in situations like we were in school or you have to share a folder
with somebody or something like that.
I imagine that happened.
That's a fantastic, and it speaks to the popularity of this, the love of this group and,
and the, the want of the need for it in the community.
Uh, so when we're talking about this, I love hearing your guys' stories.
Thank you for sharing those.
I'm hoping listeners out there hearing that and like, well, that could be me or,
oh, I could do this, um, as far as that goes and to kind of piggyback on your point,
they're Caleb a little bit.
Um, the rehearsal time, the commitment to doing something like this.
How often do you guys meet?
How often do you get a chance to rehearse?
I'd like to go with that.
Wow.
Um, we don't, we don't rehearse every week.
Um, uh, so our, um, first rehearsal was in September.
I think we've, uh, for Christmas.
So we, uh, begin in September, um, for the spring.
Uh, we begin in March.
I was cool.
Yeah.
There's like a couple of months in there where, where we, we meet.
And it's like I said, not every week.
Yeah.
But, um, there's enough that, you know, you are able to learn the music and practice as a group.
We do practice in sections as well.
Um, and also, um, uh, I just, this one,
make a point here.
You don't have to audition to be in this quiet.
That too.
That's a great point.
That's another reason why I said yes.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
And it's a really good point.
I think that's very good.
They also give you recordings through your email that you can listen to the music.
So if you go a couple of weeks without a rehearsal, you could be practicing on your own.
That's really cool.
That's very smart too.
And it is one of those, one of those things that in some ways, starting Christmas music in September.
In fact, that's the one of the, the downfalls that I told several people.
I was very honest with it.
I said in September, I don't want to start Christmas music.
But the reason we start in September is because I think they're, they're very mindful of the holidays
and the other things that happen on Tuesday.
So we didn't have anything for election day.
We're not going to have anything next week.
Um, because of it being, uh, uh, Thanksgiving week.
And so that's kind of why they, they stretch it out.
And so it is very, uh, gentle on our, on our schedule.
And so for those looking into maybe doing this and everything,
not a big time commitment, but yet a lot of fun and a, a great use of your time.
Especially you music lovers out there.
This is a really fun one.
Let's dive into the event.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
The holiday concert coming up Saturday, December 7th at four o'clock at the first congressional church.
These guys will be there along with others.
There's going to be free admission.
Free will donation is accepted and, uh, reception will be following the concert.
Let's talk about the concert itself for a moment and what people can expect.
I see that there's going to be choir selections that are going to go along with this,
Joni.
That's correct.
Um, we have several, our several cold conductors will be doing different
different selections, directing that.
Um, Sid Cooper, Vicki Dresser, Jan Dijkstra, and Jennifer Paul Vermacher.
Mary Angler will be at the piano.
Christian Stromley plays the organ.
Jennifer Paul Vermacher will be playing French horn on one of the pieces,
and Ginger Martin will be playing violin on one of the pieces.
So, um, there's also an audience sing along.
Oh, perfect.
Oh, that's nice.
Uh, they get the whole crew involved in that one, that's nice.
Uh, the choir selections that will, uh,
will begin with the most wonderful time of the year.
Which is a medley of traditional holiday songs featuring several soloists from the choir.
I am always a sucker for those.
Those always get me.
It's a great way to open the whole thing.
That's a nice idea.
We will also be singing the first Noel.
It is set as a traditional English carol in a fresh arrangement with contemporary harmonies
and a gently syncopated piano line by composer Pink's Zebra.
That's a classic.
That's a great, and it's a classic.
Oh, do you know Pink's Zebra?
No, no.
Then we have the little babe from a ceremony of carols,
which is nine medieval carols from, uh,
with middle English texts by renowned British composer Benjamin Britton.
I'm not familiar with that one.
That sounds really interesting.
Oh, that is going to be a nice addition to this.
Cool.
One of the songs that I really like is all my heart this night rejoices.
It's a beautiful arrangement of the traditional German carol for choir and the French horn,
featuring Jennifer Paul Vermacher,
is rich and warm in its harmonies and gentle rhythms.
And the classic alibi home for Christmas, the smooth and velvety all the way.
There is no lovelier or more touching Christmas ballad in the American song book
than this one originally made famous by Bing Crosby.
Agree with every word in that.
Yes, 100%.
And then I get another classic coming up, Johnny.
Now we're going to be singing the fun baby.
It's cold outside.
Kirby Shaw's jazz flavored and fun arrangement of this golden oldie.
I love that the jazzing it up a little bit more too.
That's fantastic.
And then we're going to the movies with believe.
Beautiful ballad from the movie The Polar Express,
originally recorded and made famous by Josh Groben.
This song has become a standard now in the holiday repertoire.
It really has.
It's always interesting to me with, I mean, I'll be home for Christmas,
white Christmas, so many classics that we've heard our whole lives.
It's always interesting when these new ones pop up.
And then we're able to kind of, you know, bring them into the fold.
I think it's hard to break into the Christmas.
It's got to be hard to get in there.
That one certainly is one new one that made it a list.
That's a great one.
Brightest and best is our next section.
It's a lively arrangement of American him and tune with piano
and fiddle accompaniment,
featuring violinist Ginger Martin,
who is the Lincoln High School Orchestra teacher.
I am such a fan of Ginger's and I am a big fan.
My favorite instrument is the violin.
I love anything with the violin.
The fiddle right there next to it.
So that one is probably going to be the one that I am all locked in on.
That is a really beautiful one too.
And we don't get in there.
I don't think we get enough fiddle or a lot of violin in Christmas.
We don't get enough fiddle in Christmas music.
That's good. I like that.
That's a nice addition.
We will bring the classic Christmas Eve
tradition with peace piece,
a warm and tender anthem that incorporates silent night
and even asks the congregation to join in.
The text is poignant and the troubled times in which we live
and is so meaningful as we desire peace in our world.
And some of the songs that you can sing along with the choir
is, Oh, come all you faithful and with organ accompaniment,
angels we have heard on high.
Joy to the world will also be with organ accompaniment.
And here we come a caroling.
Great idea to have those added along with this and everything.
It's going to be a really fun part of this for the audience
and for everybody involved in coming to it.
When it comes to those songs say they don't,
they're not familiar with them.
Will there be lyrics, lyric sheets for them?
Or there's kind of, you know,
they'll kind of be able to listen to the person next to you
and sing along with them.
I believe that's in the programs that are handed out.
Cool. Very cool.
And I want to thank you guys for not only bringing this to us
and everything, but certainly all the work that went into this
and the people that are, you know, arranged all of this up
and got this set up.
Certainly a big thank you to all the volunteers
and everybody that might have been helping out with this as well.
We know we're nowhere as a community without our volunteers out there.
So we really appreciate that.
I did want to also mention though, as long as I'm talking about volunteers,
if people would like to still volunteer or be a part of this event,
we want to encourage them to reach out, find out more.
The Central Wisconsin Cultural Center has ways you can do that.
There's other ways you can go into your Facebook page.
I see is another way to direct message you guys that way.
Also encourage you to like that page.
It's a great way to keep up to date on all the things
that our Wisconsin area community choir is up to.
I don't know if there's enough time to join the choir
for this particular concert,
but put out your calendar, our spring concert,
which will be held on Sunday, May 4th in 2025.
And Joni, you're getting so good at this and that's where I wanted to go next.
I wanted to make sure to mention that.
We want to make sure that people are marking these other calendars,
making plans to attend these great events.
Because not only is this a wonderful fun event,
but it's a great way to support the arts and support your community.
Yes, and I actually misspoke and when we start to rehearse for May,
we'll actually be starting.
The first rehearsal will be Tuesday, January 8th.
And it's always Tuesdays, not every week,
but a handful of Tuesdays.
I think we practiced about six or seven times before the concert.
From 7 to 8.30 pm, the rehearsals and the concerts
are all at first congregational church,
which is located at 3.11 Second Street South in Wisconsin,
Rapids, and there is no auditions.
And when you join us for our concerts,
there's no admission fee either.
And we certainly want to make sure that you guys are attending this event,
make plans to do so everybody.
It's going to be a lot of fun.
Again, it's the most wonderful time of the year.
The holiday concert coming up Saturday, December 7th,
at 4 o'clock at the first congressional church,
at 3.11 Second Street South in Wisconsin, Rapids.
We want to thank not only you guys for joining us,
but everybody that's part of the choir.
I get a lot of great people from our community,
a part of this, and we really do appreciate them.
Did we cover everything, guys?
Did we get everything in?
Did you want to make sure we touch on today?
I just wanted to say something.
I'm recently retired.
And so I worked my whole life
and being retired, these mean with a lot of time.
What am I going to do with my time?
So being part of the choir helps me be active still
and in the community and things like that.
But we have teens in the choir as well.
So we have a wide range of ages.
I want to encourage everybody to give it a shot,
come and join us, see what it's all about.
Come to the concert.
We'd love to have you.
It's a great way to find out more is coming to the concert
and get your feet in the water a little bit here
and figure things out.
I really appreciate that, Joni.
Thank you for mentioning that.
It's not only something that I want to do
and always encourage people to be a part of the choir.
Age doesn't matter.
I do tend to focus on our senior community
and a lot of our retired community.
But you're right.
Younger people and everything, especially.
You've got kids that are looking to go into music
and go into this as a field and everything.
The more reps, the more things you have
at this, the better it is.
And you're entertaining your community.
You're using your fun and your skill and your passion
to be able to entertain your community
at this time of year, especially.
That feels good.
It feels good to attend these events as well.
So if people have follow up questions,
one of them more, should we just send them
right to the Facebook page
and have them find out more that way?
I think so, yeah.
It's a very active page.
So.
Okay. All right.
So I've encouraged you to do that, everybody.
Go on to Facebook.
Type in your search bar.
Wisconsin Rapids Area Community Choir.
Like that page.
And direct message in with any questions you might have
and be sure to make plans
for it's the most wonderful time of the year.
The holiday concerts are coming up Saturday
in December 7th at four o'clock
at the first congressional church
at three 11th Second Street right here
in Wisconsin Rapids.
Keep in mind again, this is a free concert,
though they will be accepting free donations
that would be greatly appreciated.
And they'll have a reception following the show.
You guys break a leg.
Have a great show.
Enjoy yourselves.
I hope to be there and see you and hear you there.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you both for the time.
Well, a more midday magazine coming up
for you right here at 97.5 FM 13.20 AM.
WFHR, we are locally grown radio.
