The Schoharie Valley Singers Present Hearth, Home and Handel Concerts

CENTRAL BRIDGE & DUANESBURG — The Schoharie Valley Singers are pleased to present their Holiday 2024 concert program, “Hearth, Home and Handel.” Concerts are scheduled for Friday, December 13th at 7:30 pm at the Central Bridge Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Saturday, December 14th at 4:00 pm (note new time) at the Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian Church. Tickets are $10 and students are free.

The program opens with "Carol of the Bells," a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song "Shchedryk." The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych. This year marks the Singers 46th Season and will include familiar holiday seasonal favorites as well as new works by some gifted composers. There will be featured soloists throughout the program along with a string quartet. The evening will close with a few familiar Handel movements from the “Messiah,” including the Hallelujah Chorus.

The program is under the direction of Rea Jean Teeter, Artistic Director and Mark Pracher, Accompanist.

The Schoharie Valley Singers were originally founded as The Depot Lane Singers by the late Frances B. Tripp, a former Schoharie High School music teacher. Tripp founded the Depot Lane Singers in September of 1979, after her retirement from active teaching. In 2005, direction of the group was passed to Mitch Haverly, a retired music teacher from Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School. During Haverly’s tenure, the Depot Lane Singers were renamed as the Schoharie Valley Singers and incorporated as an independent not-for-profit 501(c)6 organization. At that time, Middleburgh Jr./Sr. High School music teacher Benjamin April was named as the third director of the Singers. April stepped down as director in 2023 to relocate to Vermont and Rae Jean Teeter came on board as the fourth artistic director.