One Joyful Choir featured more than 500 singers from 60 area churches, including several in and around the Doylestown area, who joined together to raise funds for Hôpital St. Croix in Léogâne, Haiti.  The medical facility sustained major damage in the January 2010 earthquake and continues to face challenges due to recent flooding and increased medical needs of the community.   

Guest conductor Dr. Pearl Shangkuan of Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, lead the choir in a celebration of sacred music.  Dr. John Ferguson, guest composer, was commissioned to write an anthem for the repertoire.   

One Joyful Choir is the largest choir to have performed on the Kimmel Center’s stage.  Many music directors are using parts of the repertoire with their choirs.  This program will be enjoyable for all ages and a great way to get into the holiday spirit.

For those of you who did not have the opportunity to witness the live performance, the MiND TV program is the next best thing!  Remember, you can also purchase the DVD and or CD at www.onejoyfulchoir.org or by calling the number provided during the broadcast on MiND TV.

One Joyful Choir (OJC) returns to the Kimmel Center at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, November 13, 2010.  Proceeds from this all volunteer effort will go to Hôpital Sainte Croix in Léogâne, Haiti.   

The first OJC event debuted in November 2007 and raised more than $40,000 for mission projects in the greater Philadelphia region.  Based on that experience, it was concluded that proceeds from this year’s performance, “Hallelujahs for Haiti,” will benefit the hospital in Haiti that was heavily damaged in the January 2010 earthquake.  Funds will be directed to the hospital through the Medical Benevolence Foundation, long supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA).     

In 2010, OJC will showcase the largest choir to ever perform on the Kimmel Center’s stage.  An event of this size requires a great deal of cooperation and coordination.  OJC music director and one of its co-organizers, Dr. Jeffrey Fowler, director of music at Wayne Presbyterian Church in Wayne, Pa., is acutely aware of the benefits as well as the complications of directing more than 500 volunteer voices.

“When you are working with that many people, there will be conflicting points of view about how to handle the logistics of it,” says Fowler.  “In the end, however, we learn to have faith, patience, and trust in what we are doing and we learn to sing as one voice.  That is what is so uplifting about One Joyful Choir; it truly is about uniting people through song for a common good.”

The 2010 One Joyful Choir began rehearsing in June under Fowler’s expert leadership.  At least once a month since then, hundreds of choristers have gathered to sing together for what they know is a great cause.  As you can imagine, just finding rehearsal space was a major undertaking.

“OJC provides us with the opportunity to be surrounded by others who love to sing, doing something we enjoy, for the benefit of people who have experienced tremendous hardship.  We are thrilled to sing this beautiful music to inspire the people of our area, and to show the people of Haiti that we still care about them,” says Dave Corson, tenor.

The executive committee, under the direction of Linda Deeter, communications professional, along with music directors of several churches, began meeting in 2007 to discuss the possibilities of another OJC event that would bring together singers from the many churches in the presbytery.  Organizing more than 500 people is not easy, yet the opportunity to raise funds for Haiti after the devastating January 2010 earthquake has produced incredible cooperation.  Volunteers have worked to find local law offices, insurance companies, rehabilitation centers, and individuals to sponsor the event.  Choir members were eager to divide various responsibilities amongst themselves to ensure every rehearsal, every meeting, and every new development went smoothly.

“We have more than 500 people singing in this choir,” says Deeter. “We are relying on volunteers to help with every last detail.  Thirteen pieces of music were needed for each member of the choir.  That means that in total, we ordered, organized, and obtained rights to more than 6,500 pieces of music.  That amount of work requires dedicated volunteers.  Feeding 500 singers between the November 13 morning dress rehearsal and afternoon performance was also a huge task.  Panera Bread stepped forward and offered box lunches and the University of the Arts, close to the Kimmel Center, offered space for the lunches to be enjoyed.”

“The event, organized and staffed completely by volunteers from the Presbytery of Philadelphia, truly is a celebration of joy,” says Fowler.  “All volunteers have tirelessly worked not only on their vocals, but on the event itself.  They manage the event expenses, publicity efforts, even the sale of premium items.  It is inspiring to see people united in an effort to help others through music – something we all enjoy.”

The choristers’ passion for music is evident.  For some, singing in a choir of this size at the Kimmel Center is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  The performance will also bring together two of the most celebrated and dedicated music scholars in the country.  The concert will be directed by Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, professor of music at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Shangkuan is participating as a result of the recommendation of Anton Armstrong, OJC’s 2007 director. 

Shangkuan is currently the director of the Calvin Alumni Choir and The Women’s Chorale, and the Grammy-nominated Grand Rapids Symphony.  She earned her bachelor of music degree in church music and master of music degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.  She received a doctor of musical arts in choral conducting from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.  She has given workshops and led performances in the United States, Asia, Australia, and Canada.

Tim Evers, associate director of music at Wayne Presbyterian Church and graduate of St. Olaf College, reached out to St. Olaf faculty member Dr. John Ferguson to participate in OJC.  Ferguson, nationally recognized for his ability to lead congregational song and widely respected as a composer, teacher, and performer, has been commissioned to write an anthem for this performance, and will accompany the OJC on the pieces he has written.  He directs the church music-organ program, teaches organ, and conducts the St. Olaf Cantorei.  Ferguson earned his bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, a master of music degree from Kent State University, in Kent, Ohio, and a doctoral of musical arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.  Before joining the St. Olaf faculty in 1983, he served as music director and organist of the Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.  Previously, he was on the music faculty at Kent State University.

Dr. Martin Marty, well-known and highly respected theologian, is writing the liturgy for OJC to weave the songs in the repertoire together.  Marty, who has authored more than 50 books, has taught in the divinity school, the department of history, and served on the Committee on the History of Culture at the University of Chicago.  Marty is an ordained minister and served for a decade in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1963.  The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he is currently the George B. Caldwell Senior Scholar in Residence of the Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith, and Ethics in Park Ridge, Ill.

“I am so excited to be included in this special event,” says Marty.  “No other group that I know of is doing anything that resembles OJC in the least.  This is truly unique and awe-inspiring.  It’s wonderful to see so many people work together, have fun, sing joyfully, while raising much needed funds for the hospital in Haiti.”

The repertoire Shangkuan has chosen for the performance is a challenging variety of sacred music ranging from Moses Hogan’s soulful “We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace,” to the uplifting, “How Can I keep from Singing” composed by Jeffrey Honore.  All of the pieces can be used by the participating churches throughout the year.  This has been proven to be a wonderful aid in planning their musical calendars.

Motion Video has been capturing video footage of OJC since the first rehearsal. The completed program will premiere on MiND TV as a documentary, including footage from the rehearsals and performance, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, and Saturday, December 11.  The documentary will be aired again on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.

For more information about One Joyful Choir, please visit www.onejoyfulchoir.org.  Tickets for One Joyful Choir are $35 and $55 and are available at the Kimmel Center box office.  Since the 2007 One Joyful Choir performance was a sold out event, organizers recommend purchasing tickets early to assure a seat at this unique musical program. For tickets, visit www.kimmelcenter.org.  For more information, please call 215.348.3890.