The success of the first coffee house in October made one thing very clear for the church. They liked the idea of new events and a time for fellowship. It was in January that myself, Connie Sabatine and Jeff Barrows sat down with the pastor and proposed our plan to hold a concert in June and follow it with an Italian dinner. Calling it “Italian Night” we would be able to entertain our guests and then provide a delicious home cooked Italian meal.  I knew this combination would be a great fit.

Building off of our success with the Interfaith Choral Festival in November, I had searched for an opportunity for the choir besides the coffee house and singing in church on selected Sunday mornings.   I believe if you want your ensemble to grow and become more mature, you need to find new outlets to perform in and a new audience to sing for.  Stretching yourself out of your comfort zone will definitely do that.  Since we have never sung more than two sections in a row, this opportunity to perform a full concert can only help us become a better choir.  I can now select literature of varying styles ranging from secular to Sacred as well as material that is better suited for a concert as opposed to just a Sunday service.  This is exactly what I did. I chose several songs including “Cantate Domino” which is partially sung in Latin. Although not terribly difficult, it is a good concert song that allows me to teach more advanced musical concepts as well as introducing Latin to our members.

In addition to Cantate Domino, we are performing Instrument of Peace, A Thousandfold, An Irish Blessing, Joshua, Make a Joyful Noise, A Mighty Fortress is our God and The Christ Child is Born will be our Sacred selections.  But, we also have a few non Sacred songs to provide a little fun and they include Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, Stand By Me and the traditional college song Vive L’Amour.  There will also be a special selection sung by Jeff Barrows.

I am definitely proud of the choir and the work they have put in so far to make this concert a success.  Like other church choirs, our membership has a varied level of musical talent with some having music and choral experience to those who this is the first time they have ever sung in a choir.  But, they are developing nicely and working towards my high expectations of them.

The dinner part just fit so nicely into the plans. It does provide a night out for our guests with dinner included.  Plus, it is all for free.  Where can you go in our society today that you can get a good concert and a full dinner all for free?  I am excited to know that many of our guests are not just going to be regular members of the congregation.  We will have family and friends from out of town, those from other churches, and even those who don’t go to church at all.  This is a nice opportunity for anyone who has never been inside our church to meet our members, have a chance to walk through the church and get a feel for who we are and what we stand for.  If opening up our church can even change one persons life for the better, than it is all worth it.

After the concert, I will be the disc jockey for the dinner.  I will be playing many of the great Italian favorites and dinner classics associated with the great country of Italy.  It stands to be a beautiful night for everyone.

I do need to tell you that entrance to both the concert and dinner is by ticket only. You will be only able to get into the dinner by having a ticket. Right now we have very few seats left. If you are interested, please call me and I will try to save you one.  However, if you don’t care about the dinner and just want to come and hear the concert, you can do that.  Just come on in!

If you have any questions or would like to inquire if we still have tickets remaining, please call me at 908-619-4502 and I can give you more information.

Once I got the approval to go ahead, I began soliciting members to sing.  To my surprise, it wasn’t a difficult thing to do.  Excited men came to me wanting to be a part of it.  Maybe it was just because it was something new, but, whatever it was, the addition of a new group appealed to many people.  I also decided that we would tie in the first performance of the group with our upcoming coffee house on October 28. I knew if we began and already had a performance to prepare for, we would have a goal and something to work towards right from the beginning.

We began rehearsals on Thursday, September 7^th and had 13 men in sign up!  I had hoped we would get maybe 6-7 but never thought 13 would want to sing. And, on top of that, no one has dropped out! Everyone seems like they are having a great time.  Like all choirs, we have a mix of members with a musical background and some who have never sung in public before.  I have never had the opportunity to direct a men’s choir before, but, I am really enjoying my time so far.  My goal has been to create a fun learning environment where the men can come on a Thursday night and put whatever stress they are dealing with on hold and just enjoy the rehearsal.  I’ve always believed that if someone is giving up time with his or her family to come to a rehearsal I am directing, I know it has to be productive. I want them to leave with a sense of satisfaction and that it was time well spent.  I also want to inject humor and laughter.  I believe when someone is relaxed, they can absorb more instruction and perform better.  I want the men to want to come to the rehearsal and look forward to our time together.

Well, I am very happy with where we are right now and the progress we have made.  There has been a noticeable difference from the first rehearsal to now.  I am seeing the men show enthusiasm and excitement about singing. Singing for the Lord! We even have decided on an identity.  We are now Victory Voices.  A great name suggested by our most senior member, Sam Boddard.

If you cannot attend our coffee house on Saturday, October 28^th, we are also singing the next day in church at 10:30am.  Come out to hear us, you won’t be disappointed.

Here is the address of the church if you are interested in coming to hear Victory Voices.

Bethel Memorial Baptist Church

715 Chestnut Lane

Easton, PA 18045

You can always call me if you have any questions.  I can be reached at 908-619-4502.