Community Christmas Choir meeting set Sept. 18

Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Jamie France (left) directs the 2015 Community Christmas Choir in Russellville in front of more than 1,800 spectators. More than 150 people from around the tri-county area participated in the choir in 2015.
Courtesy photo

RUSSELLVILLE -- Christmas may still be four months away, but the performance committee for Russellville’s Community Christmas Choir is gearing up for its 15th and final annual program.

The choir has been a growing tradition for residents of Montgomery, Parke and Putnam counties since 2002. In 2015 more than 150 people participated and more than 1,800 people attended the concert at the Russellville Community Center.

With the music and theme of this year’s concert in place, the next step is to invite choir and cast members from surrounding counties to fill those seats. This year’s concert is titled “The Journey of Christmas – Share the Story,” created by Phil Barfoot with arrangement and orchestration by Cliff Duren.

Jamie France of Waveland has directed the choir since its inception when it started with 30 members from three small area churches.

“We never imagined that it would grow to this level,” France said. “Every year more people are involved in some aspect of the performance.”

The choir’s first organizational meeting will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.

Browns Valley Christian Church, located at 9011 S. State Road 47 in southwestern Montgomery County, has provided the sanctuary to the Community Choir for its meeting and weekly rehearsals.

All are encouraged to come out and be a part of the choir. There are no auditions and everyone is invited. The production will also feature a narrated dramatization of the birth of Jesus Christ and a children’s choir.

“It is uplifting to experience the fun and fellowship our choir has during the rehearsals,” France added. “We have 100 seats to fill, numerous non-speaking drama parts and room for even more.”

Choir rehearsals will be once-a-week at Browns Valley Christian Church. France said choir members are encouraged to attend each practice but they need only attend every other week. Practice CDs will be made available for participants to work on the songs at home.

This year’s highly-anticipated and well-attended annual event is open to the public and everyone is invited to experience the sights and sounds it has to offer. The free concert will once again be performed at the Russellville Community Center on Friday, Dec. 2, Saturday, Dec. 3 (each at 7 p.m.) and on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m. Each performance will last approximately one hour.

A dinner will be served by the Russellville Community Center and is offered one hour prior to each performance. A free-will offering will be collected for the meal and the proceeds will benefit the Russellville Community Center.

The Community Christmas Choir will once again take this opportunity to provide for those individuals in our local communities who are less fortunate and will not have enough to eat this winter. Donated, non-perishable food items will be collected at the door and then distributed to food banks in Parke, Putnam and Montgomery counties.

Christmas bake sale items will also be available before, during and after each of the three performances. These holiday cookies, candies and goodies are donated by the volunteer members that make up the Community Christmas Choir. A free-will offering will also be accepted for these items and, since this is the final season performance, all excess proceeds will go to benefit the Russellville Community Center and/or the local food pantries.

Any and all questions can be directed to Jamie France at 765-719-0732 or via email at jamieamy21@aol.com.

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