Assabet Valley Mastersingers seeking new voices
By Shelly Schweizer Contributing Writer

The Assabet Valley Chamber Singers are a subset of the 75-member Assabet Valley Mastersingers. PHOTO/COURTESY OF ASSABET VALLEY MASTERSINGERS

Region - For the past 30 years, the Assabet Valley Mastersingers (AVM) has entertained audiences in central Massachusetts. The 75-member group, which performs classical choral music, is seeking new voices for their upcoming season. Their first concerts will be held in November.

AVM is welcoming interested singers, particularly those with soprano, tenor and bass voices, to attend open rehearsals Monday Aug. 27, Tuesday Sept. 4 and Monday Sept. 10 at St. Mark's School in Southborough from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m.

Members of the choral group, who hail from more than 15 towns and range in age from 20 to 70, perform major choral masterworks. Several in the group have been members since its inception in 1977. Hudson resident Alene Cole, AVM's publicity chair, is a founding member of the group. Her long-term affiliation with AVM has been a labor of love.

"I've been with the group for 30 years," Cole said. "I haven't missed a single concert. It's as natural as breathing. It's a big part of my life. It's certainly given me a lot back."

Cole said that the group members vary in experience and training.

"We're an enthusiastic group. We're not incredibly intimidating," she said. "We have a great variety of experience. Many are church choir members or studied music in college."

The group's director and founder, Dr. Robert P. Eaton, was formerly the choral director at Algonquin Regional High School. He is currently the minister of music at First Baptist Church in Lexington. Cole said that Eaton started AVM because there was no similar group in the area. Over the years, the group has expanded its membership, along with the number of annual performances.

"The director is very much an educator at heart. He was the choral director at Algonquin for more than 20 years and did remarkable things with those choruses," Cole said. "He's incredibly organized and very eff ective in guiding us through some of the great challenges that he presents to us singers.

"He has very high standards in the quality of the concerts, has excellent knowledge, and is effective in getting us to achieve what he wants, with a sense of humor."

This year, the group will perform three programs, along with a "Messiah" sing that features audience participation, in December. In addition, AVM will be the first group in the eastern United States to perform "A Mass for Peace" ("The Armed Man") by Karl Jenkins, which was commissioned for the year 2000 in England. The work was dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis.

In addition to the annual concerts, a sub-group within the organization, the Assabet Valley Chamber Singers, provides outreach and performs at area nursing homes and at civic events.

Ruth Russo, a charter member of AVM and a member of the Chamber Singers, said that she's gained self confidence, joy and many friendships by her participation.

"It's a great learning experience," Russo said. "I love the discipline of it. I like the work involved. I like the camaraderie of everyone and the social aspect and, of course, our director. He is great."