Recent Events | Meridian Women's Chorus

MACFest at Barnett Shoals Elementary School

Saturday, March 22, 2025

A Meridian small ensemble offered a preview of our upcoming Spring Concert for delighted families at the MAC (music, art, and culture) celebration at BSES. We had a great time and those who were able went to lunch at DePalma’s afterwards.

Many thanks to Cindy Vail, Wren Howard, Roberta Merkle, Denise Gabriel, Ellen Surrency, Eleanor Cotton, Kathy Carter, Arnelle Combs, Melinda Robins, Pauline Rakich, Wendy Arthur, Linda Tiller, Marge Massey, Mary Alguire, Lorraine Downie, Jeanne Nadenicek, and Harriette Gavrielides

**We are so grateful to our accompanist, Amanda Mazzaferro, for bringing us this opportunity, and to percussionist Drew Serrero who volunteered to play tambourine on a few pieces with us**

Potluck Luncheon

Thursday, January 9, 2025

We had over thirty members show up over the course of the luncheon and everyone had a great time catching up with old friends and making new friends, too! We are so grateful to Holy Cross Lutheran Church for giving us the use of their wonderful Fellowship Hall.

**Joyce Morehouse and Elena Bianchelli**

**Wren Howard, Sujata Iyengar, and Ellen Ritchey**

Meridian’s Annual Holiday Tapestry Concert at Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Saturday, December 7, 2024

We had an SRO crowd for our holiday concert–it was so much fun and the music was all so good! Here are a few photos. TY = photo by Tony Yu

**Lisa Kohler, Susan Garrett, Mary Alguire, Janet Rodekohr, Lorraine Downie (TY)**

**Karen Bouchard, Mary Alguire, Jeanne Nadenicek, Peg Wenzka** **(TY)**

**Ellen Ritchey, Arnelle Combs, Wren Howard, Kate McClain, Denise Gabriel (TY)**

**Jhonnisvan da Cruz Campos (aka Jhonni Campos), violin (TY)**

**Arnelle Combs with family and friends**

**Don and Lorraine Downie with Linda DiPietro**

**OC A CAPPELLA. directed by Katie Williams**

**Athens Recorder Ensemble, directed by Kevin Kelly**

**Trinity Handbell Choir, directed by Anne Weaver**

**Karen Bouchard, Vicki Connell, and Cindy Vail**

Happy Halloween! at Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Thursday, October 31, 2024

What a GREAT rehearsal! And we had so much fun sharing our Halloween- and Autumn-themed garb! Soprano Ellen Surrency won the door prize: a pair of Halloween socks and a lovely ceramic pumpkin, a perfect piece of home decor for the entire fall season!

***Karen Bouchard: what a lovely butterfly!***

***Marge Massey, you are too funny! Marty Winkler, are you seeing this?***

***Look out for Lionness Corinne Wilkinson!*** **MMRROWW!**

***Ellen Surrency and Nova Todd, what a cute couple of witches!***

***Betsy Vonk: despite what her shirt says (literally, “one who wanders aimlessly” ie “foreigner”), she knows where she’s going!***

***Vikings Fan Jeanne Nadenicek and Lorraine “Maleficent” Downie make a great kazoo duet!***

***Ellen Surrency won a pair of Halloween socks…***

***…and a lovely decorative ceramic pumpkin!***

***Kate McClain sporting her festive autumn-themed jacket***

***Wendy Arthur, the original Flower Child!***

***Joyce Morehouse wearing a lovely autumn-themed scarf***

***Peggye Thornburg, you are one adorable kitty!***

***Lorraine Downie and Stacie (Downie) Court: the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree!***

***Kathy Carter, Cowgirl Extraordinaire***

***Cass Robinson, the one day of the year she wears orange***

***Lisa Kohler, incognito in her “Mom” costume***

***Wren Howard is ready for el Día de los Muertos this weekend!***

***Cindy Vail really knows how to light up a room!***

***We have a whole pack of Cat Ladies!***

Patchwork Concert at Trinity Lutheran Church

Sunday, October 20, 2024

We performed “The Four Seasons of Praise”, a choral song cycle based on four Shaker hymns, each celebrating a different season.

To listen to our performance, click here: https://youtu.be/M0LMNX8yzpE?si=80-fgjn0DgB-UvUK

Annual Meeting and Potluck Luncheon

Thursday, June 13, 2024

We ate some great food, got some business done, and got to catch up a little bit. Next potluck: August 29th.

***Ellen Surrency, Roberta Merkle, and Wren Howard***

**Angela Helwig, Betsy Vonk, and Pauline Rakich**

Carnegie Hall!

Saturday, June 1, 2024

Several Meridian women, past and present, performed the Mozart Requiem with the Athens Master Chorale and Friends at Carnegie Hall. It was an outstanding and historical performance: Athens Master Chorale founder Joseph Napoli ended his conducting career with a bang, going out on a high note at Carnegie Hall (only fitting, since his career had started In New York City at the Metropolitan Opera!)

Back: Taylor Yates, Kristin Humbard, Chris Lobsinger, Penny Overcash, LIsa Townsley.
Front: Marjanne Goozé, Wendy Arthur, Stacie Court, Wren Howard

Spaghetti Dinner at St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church

Thursday, May 9, 2024

What a treat! We got to sing eight of our favorites from the April 28th concert one more time, to an appreciative audience. We were all treated to a delicious spaghetti dinner afterwards, and invited to come back again next year.

Spring Concert: Animals Everywhere

Sunday, April 28, 2024

An amazing concert full of fun and great music, performed to a SRO crowd at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church. If anyone has any photos from the day, please send them to me (I was busy directing and couldn’t take any).

Barnett Shoals Elementary School Family Arts Night

Friday, March 22, 2024

What a great evening! We sang four of our family-friendly favorites from our upcoming concert, plus we got to spend time seeing other performers and art displays as well.

Classic City Band Spring Concert

Sunday, March 10, 2024

We had a wonderful time singing with the Classic City Band for their Spring Concert at Hodgson Hall. We sang Julie Giroux’s “My Soul to Keep”, a touching piece meant to bring solace to those affected by gun violence.

New Year’s Luncheon

Thursday, January 4, 2024

A bunch of us got together for a luncheon to celebrate the New Year. Members got to pay their semester dues and pick up their music BEFORE the first rehearsal…and enjoy catching up with each other, too! We had a great time and welcomed some new members to the chorus.

Family Fun Day at GMOA

Saturday, December 9, 2023

A group of Meridian women and friends gathered to sing for the Georgia Museum of Art’s annual Family Fun Day. We sang everything from traditional carols to Hanukkah and Kwanzaa songs, finishing with “Auld Lang Syne” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

Saying Thank You and Giving Back

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Our audience was so generous in giving to Meridian at our Tapestry Concert! In gratitude for the many ways the people of Holy Cross support us and our mission to bring fine choral music to the greater Athens area, before the concert we had pledged to give 20% of the donations received that day to Holy Cross. We were so pleased to be able to present a $400 check to Holy Cross to Reverend Hilkert. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible!

Tapestry Concert

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Holy Cross Lutheran Church

We had such a great concert! The place was packed and full of revelry. Here are some photos from our wonderful afternoon of music:

Halloween Fun!

During rehearsal, Thursday, October 26, 2023

Today we celebrated Autumn and Halloween with some fun: anyone who dressed up either for Halloween or in an Autumn theme would be entered in the door prize drawing. Marjanne Goozé was the lucky winner of a lovely pot of mums from Cofer’s.

***Angela Helwig rocking those autumn colors!***

***Barbara Arnold reliving her groovy days in San Francisco***

***Caren Snook, there is no cuter witch than you!***

***Cindy Vail is planning ahead for Día de los Muertos***

***Now starring Denise Gabriel as tennis great Steffi Graf***

***Ellen Ritchey is always recruiting new singers: today’s guest has a magical air about her***

***Janet Rodekohr aka Eastern European Shepherdess***

*Jeanne Nadenicek! What’s in your hair?! And crawling up your neck?*! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

***Karen Bouchard makes a lovely butterfly!***

***Kate McClain is stylin’ that autumn-themed ensemble!***

***Kathy Carter makes a great Cat Witch!***

***Linda Tiller really got into the spirit!***

***Lorraine Downie is ready to deal the cards***

***Marjanne Goozé sporting a vintage KMart tshirt of old***

***Peggye Thornburg, I think there’s something in your hair!***

***Roberta Merkle is the Queen of Leaves***

***Stacie Court couldn’t decide between a princess, a fairy, and a unicorn, so she went with all three***

***Vicki Connell had the best costume…look at the next photo to see if you get the joke***

***Wren Howard, are you going out with Cindy next week?***

Patchwork Concert

Sunday, October 22, 2023 at Trinity Lutheran Church

Today we performed the Shaker song “Gladsome Sound” and Marta Keen’s “Homeward Bound” for the Americana concert held in conjunction with the presentation of the church’s quilt group’s output for the year. The quilts will all go to people who could use a hug and a warm quilt.

***Lisa Kohler and Cindy Vail; Jeanne Nadenicek and Susan Garrett; Lorraine Downie and Angela Helwig***

***Nan McMurry and Kevin Kelly; Janet Rodekohr***

***Ellen Stokowski; Wendy Arthur and Chris Lobsinger; Wren Howard, Barbara Arnold, and Kathy Carter; Cass Robinson***

***Quartet from Stacie’s studio: Penny Overcash, Nan McMurry, Chris Lobsinger, and Wendy Arthur***

Meridian Goes to the Dogs! (…and cats!)

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at the Athens Area Humane Society

Our April 28th concert will have a wonderful theme: Animals! And we are teaming up with the Athens Area Humane Society to raise awareness for them during the spring. As part of our partnership we will also support them in some caroling events this holiday season.

Today some of the ladies met at the Humane Society facility for caroling practice with musician Kelsey Fredriksen (she is also their marketing director). We got to sing through some beloved carols and then explore the facility a bit. It was a fun morning…but those cats and dogs were so darn cute! It was really hard to leave them there! Hopefully they will all be going to good, loving homes very soon.

**Ellen Stokowski wants to bring one home!**

**Ellen Ritchey and Susan Garrett saying hi to the kitties**

Classic City Band’s

Memorial Day Weekend Concert

Sunday, May 28, 2023 4 pm at the Performing Arts Center at Jefferson High School

This afternoon a group from Meridian Women’s Chorus sang at the Classic City Band’s Memorial Day Weekend Concert. It was a wonderful concert and we were so glad for the opportunity to contribute. Many thanks to Director Michael Brewer for the kind invitation!

Special thanks go to…Altos: Lorraine Downie; Janet Rodekohr; Angela Helwig; Susan Garrett; Linda Tiller; Barbara Rodgers; Betsy Vonk; Jennifer Saye; and Gabrielle Mason…

…and Sopranos: Cass Robinson; Ellen Ritchey; Nova Todd; Kathy Carter; Peggye Thornburg; Denise Gabriel; Cindy Vail; Wendy Arthur; and Pauline Rakich.

We also thank soprano Terri Tillman for joining us for the event (Michael Brewer is her husband so she was very glad to sing).

Note: I apologize to anyone who didn’t make it into a photo; the lighting was very bad for photography so many photos went to the trash despite attempts to fix them. If you have any photos to add, please send them to meridianathensga@gmail.com

**Directors Stacie Court and Michael Brewer**

Spring Concert: Mother Earth and Her Gifts

Sunday, April 30, 2023 4 pm at Friendship Presbyterian Church

We had such a great concert–the room was SRO and we all had a wonderful time!

(See Past Concerts page for more information about the program)

Photos by Tony Yu (a thousand thanks to you, Tony!)

Cats!

In honor of Roger Vogel’s The Nature of the Cat, we present Meridian Cats…

Soprano and Alto Sectionals, March 20th and 21st, 2023

**Altos hamming it up after rehearsing Roger Vogel’s The Nature of the Cat**

**Sopranos getting in on the action, showing just how catty they can be!**

Composer Visits: Thursday, February 23, 2023 and Thursday, March 2, 2023

WOW! We were so lucky to have composer visits TWO WEEKS IN A ROW!

On February 23rd composer Sally Coenen came to our rehearsal to talk about the piece she arranged for us, “A Thousand Thanks”. This piece was originally written for solo soprano and piano; this past fall Stacie and Sally talked about how the text would be so perfect for a piece for women’s chorus…and Sally arranged it as a gift to us! A thousand thanks go out to Sally…we’re really looking forward to singing it in our spring concert on April 30th.

**Composer Sally Coenen is a bright light in the lives of so many!**

On March 2nd we welcomed composer Roger Vogel to our rehearsal. Roger has given us the use of his song cycle The Nature of the Cat for our upcoming spring concert. We were very interested to hear about his process for researching and writing, and also about his experiences playing harmonica as well. In addition, he talked about the changes in technology over the years, and showing us the kinds of calligraphy pens he worked with back in the 70s and 80s. It was a great visit, and we are working hard to do his wonderful, comical piece justice!

**Roger was a dynamic speaker and interesting to listen to**

Lunch and a Movie: Thursday, January 12, 2023

We had a great lunch together, watched the movie Florence Foster Jenkins, and picked up music in advance of next week’s rehearsal–what a great afternoon!

Many thanks to Whit Richardson and Taziki’s Cafe for donating Mediterranean Salad and fixings for all of us–YUM!