Local chorus hosts free Friends and Family Night

The Choral-Aires Chorus—recently dubbed the 8th top Sweet Adelines International chorus in the world—invites residents in the Elmhurst area to a free event held from 7 – 8:30 p.m., Monday, May 5. This “Friends and Family Night” offers an evening of high quality and high energy a cappella music performed by quartets and the award-winning Choral-Aires Chorus. The event is held at the Redeemer Lutheran Church Recreation Center (345 S. Kenilworth Avenue, Elmhurst). The performance packages presented at the “Friends and Family Night” will be showcased at the annual regional competition for the Sweet Adelines Midwest Harmony Region 3 in Grand Rapids, Mich., May 15 – 18.  

The Chorus, current reigning Regional Champions, support five quartets competing in this year’s contest: Lizzle, ROXY, Pizzazz, PipeDreams and UpSide. Each quartet has at least one member that is also a member of the Choral-Aires Chorus. As current Regional Champions, the Choral-Aires Chorus is prepared to defend the title, and to qualify in the 2015 Sweet Adelines International contest. 

“The women of the Choral-Aires love to have a good time and perform in front of any size audience,” says Chorus President Nancy Smith. “Having the opportunity to share our music through an informal performance like Friends and Family Night inspires us all. This is the reason we sing!”

Women passionate about music are invited to join the Choral-Aires Chorus during weekly rehearsals held each Monday from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Redeemer Lutheran Church Recreation Center (345 S. Kenilworth Avenue, Elmhurst). For more information about joining the Chorus, contact Barb Ehst at barbehst@hotmail.com or 630.204.5188. 

More than 100 women from Illinois and Wisconsin sing tight harmonies a cappella (without instrumentation) with the Choral-Aires Chorus, the 2012 Lake Michigan Region 3 Champion, and earned eighth place in the world at the 2013 Sweet Adelines International contest. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. More information about the Chorus can be found at their website, http://choral-aires.com.