Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

For the Republican

If you enjoy Christmas music, the holiday concert performed by the Rush County Chorale should not be missed. The Children’s Choir will perform along with the Chorale for several numbers and some of their own. The choirs are directed by the talented Doyles: Fran and David. There are at least 50 members in the Chorale and 30 in the Children’s Choir.

The performances will be at the Laughlin Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The choirs will be singing traditional carols that everyone loves to hear. The performance will include a bell choir which is yet another talented group of individuals from our community. The hand bells were a gift to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church from the children of Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Stiers - given in their memory.

The bell choir, which features a wide range of ages from a freshman in high school to a few veterans in the music arena, includes:

n Donna Holland has played the flute for the Chorale and recently performed in China with the group Windiana. Her husband is Chris and they have two children, Christopher and Julia. Donna is also a member of the Shelbyville Community Band and plays flute for the Hoosier Jazz Buddies. Donna and her husband own Incerco Technical Ceramics.

n Carol Fenimore has been a science teacher at Rushville Consolidated High School 10 years and is excited to perform as part of the bell choir. She is the mother of two other bell players, Chelsea and Kera. She has sung many years in the St. Paul’s church choir and long-time president of Psi lota Xi Sorority. She is married to Dr. Craig Fenimore.

n Chelsea Fenimore plays clarinet and is in the percussion ensemble and jazz band as an 11th grader at RCHS. She is also a section leader in band.

n Kera Fenimore, Chelsea’s sister, is in the ninth grade at RCHS and plays the flute. She too is in the percussion ensemble and loves to read in her spare time.

n Ann Fenimore, an organist for First Presbyterian Church, the Chorale and Children’s Choir, is a veteran bell player. She was a nurse for Rush County Schools 35 years and is married to Les Fenimore, who is a retired science teacher after 51 years in the school system. They are the grandparents of Kera and Chelsea as well as Hallie Fenimore, a member of the Children’s Choir. Les does all of the photography and recordings for the Chorale.

n Scott Wildey, recently in our profile for the Chorale, will not only be singing as a tenor but playing the bells. He has not played the bells for several years, but you wouldn’t know that listening to him at practice. He has been in management at Ponderosa in Greensburg over 10 years and became owner in August 2008. The choir is excited about singing one of the songs he arranged just for this weekend’s concert: The Christmas Song.

It takes a lot of personal effort to accomplish what these individuals have, and everyone in the Chorale and Children’s Choir appreciate the time they have taken to make this performance more special.

Songs that will be sung by the choir include “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin; “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme and Bob Wells - arranged by Scott Wildey; “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly/Silent Night” which is a traditional Polish and German carol by Franz Gruber; “Angels, from the Realms of Glory/Angels We Have Heard” by Henry Smart.

The women’s section will sing “Christmas Lullaby” and the men’s section “Mary, Did You Know?”

The children will sing “It’s Almost Time for Christmas” and “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head.”

The bells will be playing with both choirs, performing “The Sound of a Bell,” “How Quietly,” “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” and “O, Holy Night.”

Bring your family to this fantastic concert which will most certainly put you in the Christmas spirit before things get too hectic. You will not be disappointed.

Tickets can be purchased for $6 at the Rushville Pharmacy, King’s Family Bookstore or from any Chorale member. Tickets can be used for the Saturday or Sunday performance.

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