A Note From Gary…
Fifteen Years! Who would have thought? Certainly not me. In early 1994, I had recently
opened a music store in downtown Collinsville. Through that store I got to know Lisa Neal
and Gary Hoobler, two church music directors in Collinsville that had made some attempts to
put together a mass choir from local churches in the recent past for special occasions. I
would always read about the Masterworks Chorale and others and think, “Why can’t we have
something like that in Collinsville?” I just decided to give it my own shot and see what might
happen.
So, with Gary and Lisa’s help I contacted all the local churches with the idea of a permanent
community choir made up of the better singers in the community. I knew that there were a
couple of big problems with doing this. First, we needed a reason for singers to come. We
had to take on music that their respective church choirs weren't capable of doing. We felt
that we could make that work. Second, everyone was so busy! The last thing they needed
was to have another night tied up. They were already committing one night to their church
choirs and who knows how many other nights to their kids’ outside interests, etc. So I knew
it couldn’t be a weekly commitment. Without a weekly commitment, the problem was how to
get a group ready to perform quality music in a short period of time. The answer was that
we needed the best singers possible, those who could read music or learn it quickly. So we
had to have auditions. We couldn’t just take anyone. So that’s what we did.
For that first concert, we had 15 singers and an audience of about 50 brave souls (we
performed outside in the rain). What happened next is what keeps us going even now.
Audience members told their friends about us, and singers told their friends about us. By
the end of that first season, we had 35 members and our audiences had grown to around
200 or so. Now, through four directors, somewhere over 250 singers, and well over 30,000
audience members, the Collinsville Chorale is still around, bringing music into people’s lives
four times a year!
I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you have accepted us into your lives! I
cannot begin to tell you how many people have come up to me or someone in the group and
told us how much our music meant to them for one reason or another. I cannot tell you how
many older folks have put 50 cents in the donation basket because that was all they could
afford, but loved us just as much as those who put in $500. I cannot tell you how many
friends I have gained in these past fifteen years, but I CAN tell you it’s a bunch! And each
one has a story to tell, from those who sang with us once to those who have been here from
the beginning.
I CAN tell you that the Collinsville Chorale means more to me than just about anything other
than family and God. That’s how we got here, and that is how we will continue to go on. I
leave you with two quotes: First, from Red Auerbach, former coach of the Boston Celtics:
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life! And from Heinrich Heine: When
words leave off, music begins! Thanks for 15 wonderful years! Here’s to fifteen more!
Sincerely,
Gary Humphrey
Founder and Executive Director
Fifteen Years! Who would have thought? Certainly not me. In early 1994, I had recently
opened a music store in downtown Collinsville. Through that store I got to know Lisa Neal
and Gary Hoobler, two church music directors in Collinsville that had made some attempts to
put together a mass choir from local churches in the recent past for special occasions. I
would always read about the Masterworks Chorale and others and think, “Why can’t we have
something like that in Collinsville?” I just decided to give it my own shot and see what might
happen.
So, with Gary and Lisa’s help I contacted all the local churches with the idea of a permanent
community choir made up of the better singers in the community. I knew that there were a
couple of big problems with doing this. First, we needed a reason for singers to come. We
had to take on music that their respective church choirs weren't capable of doing. We felt
that we could make that work. Second, everyone was so busy! The last thing they needed
was to have another night tied up. They were already committing one night to their church
choirs and who knows how many other nights to their kids’ outside interests, etc. So I knew
it couldn’t be a weekly commitment. Without a weekly commitment, the problem was how to
get a group ready to perform quality music in a short period of time. The answer was that
we needed the best singers possible, those who could read music or learn it quickly. So we
had to have auditions. We couldn’t just take anyone. So that’s what we did.
For that first concert, we had 15 singers and an audience of about 50 brave souls (we
performed outside in the rain). What happened next is what keeps us going even now.
Audience members told their friends about us, and singers told their friends about us. By
the end of that first season, we had 35 members and our audiences had grown to around
200 or so. Now, through four directors, somewhere over 250 singers, and well over 30,000
audience members, the Collinsville Chorale is still around, bringing music into people’s lives
four times a year!
I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you have accepted us into your lives! I
cannot begin to tell you how many people have come up to me or someone in the group and
told us how much our music meant to them for one reason or another. I cannot tell you how
many older folks have put 50 cents in the donation basket because that was all they could
afford, but loved us just as much as those who put in $500. I cannot tell you how many
friends I have gained in these past fifteen years, but I CAN tell you it’s a bunch! And each
one has a story to tell, from those who sang with us once to those who have been here from
the beginning.
I CAN tell you that the Collinsville Chorale means more to me than just about anything other
than family and God. That’s how we got here, and that is how we will continue to go on. I
leave you with two quotes: First, from Red Auerbach, former coach of the Boston Celtics:
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life! And from Heinrich Heine: When
words leave off, music begins! Thanks for 15 wonderful years! Here’s to fifteen more!
Sincerely,
Gary Humphrey
Founder and Executive Director
| Happy 15th Anniversary! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
