Macon choir to perform local preview of Carnegie Hall show

The Choral Society of Middle Georgia, Mercer Singers, Mercer University Choir and students of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings will perform at Carnegie Hall in February, but Macon audiences can preview their performance Friday at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church.

Tickets are $15 and available through the Choral Society’s website at www.choralsocietymga.com. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Mulberry UMC’s auditorium at 719 Mulberry St.

The Choral Society’s roots go back 49 years to its founding in 1975 as the Macon Civic Chorale but at its heart, it’s always simply been a community organization of people from all walks of life who love to sing, people who’ve come together from all across Middle Georgia.

“Music is a great means for people to release the stress and anxiety of everyday life and gives them a unique way to express themselves, a way they may not have in other areas of their lives,” said Gary Gerber, the Society’s artistic director/conductor and Dean of the Townsend School of Music at Mercer University.

“The thing about singing is you can enjoy it by yourself and you can enjoy it with others. But as an art form, I think it’s a matter of the more the merrier and that’s what we strive for with the Choral Society.”

Gerber said the Society enjoyed success in the past several years and has grown in numbers. He said there are about 65 members currently.

“Some are professional singers, some semi-professional and many are amateurs,” he said. “But all are people who love to get together and sing good choral literature.”

Information on the Choral Society’s website details the steps to join but makes clear it “welcomes singers of all vocal ranges who share our love of choral music” and is “an inclusive choral society that is dedicated to giving anyone with the desire and ability to sing an opportunity to do so.”

As its name denotes, the Mercer Singers is made up of Mercer students who perform a wide range of choral music spanning from Renaissance to contemporary works. It is an auditioned ensemble led by Stanley Roberts, the Arthur Lowndes Rich Professor of Choral Conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the Townsend School of Music.  

The University Choir encircles the larger Mercer community, uniting the voices of students, faculty and staff. Gerber also directs it.

Well-known in the community, students of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings will provide musical support for the program on Friday and at Carnegie Hall.

Both the program on Friday in Macon and in February at New York’s Carnegie will include various combined and separate performances by the different groups. The program includes Handel’s “Zadok the Priest,” Mark A. Miller’s “I Believe,” Mack Wilberg’s “Bound for the Promised Land” and Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass.”

The Carnegie Hall program differs slightly, most notably having the added featured presentation of a still-being-composed and as-of-yet-to-be-named work by Mack Wilberg, composer, arranger and choral director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

“He’s writing it this fall and we’ll get our first look at it about a month ahead of our Carnegie Hall performance where we will premiere it,” Gerber said. “We do know it’s an arrangement of three folk songs.”

Looking again at the Choral Society, the group has performed once before at Carnegie Hall pre-COVID and has also traveled to the U.K. to perform there.

Annually, the Society gives four major concerts each year allowing them to remain faithful to a range of choral and orchestral works while still exploring a diverse selection of musical styles.

Each year in December, the Society performs the Christmas portion of Handel’s “Messiah.”

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Macon Arts Alliance has inducted its 2024 class of Cultural Award winners. Each year, the awards recognize individuals, organizations and businesses who have made significant contributions to the cultural life of Middle Georgia through their work or philanthropic efforts. With a brief note of each’s contributions as set forth in their nomination documents, they are:

— Justin Andrews, director of special projects at the Otis Redding Foundation, whose community involvement includes being president of the Macon Film Festival, a Macon Arts Alliance board member and Visit Macon advisory board member. In addition, in his role with the Otis Redding Foundation, he works across community lines to expand music education and foster young people’s interests and abilities in the arts.

— Charles E. Cox, Jr., attorney, whose efforts brought about the establishment and placement of Historic Macon Music Registry Plaques at significant sites throughout the community and whose Basement South House Concerts have brought uniquely talented performers to Macon audiences. He is also recognized for supporting Macon Pops, Theatre Macon, Macon Pride, the Otis Redding Center for the Arts and the Jazz Association of Macon.

— Mary Pinson, floral designer at Mary Pinson Flowers, whose contributions include serving as the visitors board chair of the McDuffie Center for Strings to expand community engagement and partnership in the arts, co-hosting Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra gala events and creating community around the Fabian Concert series through pre-concert gatherings. She has used her many talents and business space to benefit non-profits and been board chair of the Museum of Arts & Sciences and served on the boards of the Hay House and Historic Macon. 

— Joey Stuckey, music industry professional and blind brain tumor survivor, is a founding member of the Georgia Allman Brothers Band Association, has donated significant time and effort toward educating and inspiring students at area schools including The Georgia Academy for the Blind, Mt. de Sales, Howard Middle School, Clifton Ridge Middle School, Wesleyan College and Mercer University, and served on, with or as president of (Macon) Georgia Music Industry Association (GMIA), speaker/performer for Jay’s Hope, Cherry Blossom Festival Entertainment Coordinator and Midsummer Macon Arts Camp educator/director of Rock Band Camp. 

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at [email protected]. Find him on Instagram at michael_w_pannell.