Ladies, Come Sing with Us!

Wilderness Road Chorus singers are Barbershop-harmonizing back on the usual schedule of Monday night rehearsals, 7 p.m., at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church now that the health recommendations permit it.

For more than a year, the chorus has worked with zoom rehearsals, and masked, socially-distanced outdoor rehearsals when the weather was warmer, said Lavelva Stevens, director.

Stevens, who lives in Pulaski, added that hearing the harmonies really helps the chorus to develop the barbershop style.

“Barbershop harmony is, along with jazz, one of only two styles of music developed in the United States,” said Stevens. The four-part harmony, a cappella, barbershop style. dates to the 1850s. Its harmonies are specific creating a sound that barbershoppers call “Ringing the chord.”

Wilderness Road Chorus emphasizes music education. The singers learn vocal production and performing. It performs at community events such as fairs, and it has sung at such venues as Calfee Park baseball stadium. Its favorite mission is to sing at assisted living centers and hospitals throughout the year.

Wilderness Road Chorus, which takes its name from the road that goes through the communities in which its members live, has been performing at community events for more than 30 years.

Women, 16 years of age and older, are invited to visit a rehearsal to learn about the style and the sound.

We welcome newcomers. You don’t have to be able to read music, Stevens said. We learn the songs at rehearsal and recordings are available for singers to practice their parts at home.

The Chorus is on Facebook at Wilderness Road Chorus and its website is www.wildernessroadchorus.org.