Pam Ryley and her husband, Roger, have been with the Mystic River Chorale [MRC] since its inception. Their first season was 1984-85, and 24 years later, Ryley, now president, will lead the pack of more than 40 members into their 25th anniversary in the spring of 2009, continuing with more performances in the community and overseas.
“We started as a program of the Mystic Community Center,” Ryley said. “After a few years, we broke away from the community center because it didn’t seem like the best fit to have sports programs and singing in the same building. They didn’t have a really good facility for us to rehearse in.”
After the chorale was established as a nonprofit organization, the group began to rehearse at Fitch High School under the direction of Tricia and Jim Dehls. She said the chorale then moved its rehearsals to Stonington High with the school’s choral director Michelle Holt.
After Holt and the SHS base, Ryley said, beginning to laugh, the chorale went under the direction of Joan Cook at the United Baptist Church in Mystic, where the chorale has stayed ever since.
Member Joseph Benedict said a subgroup of the chorale, the Mystic River Festival Chorale, traveled to Italy last fall to perform in the International Festival of Choirs, “Cantus Angeli.” The group performed several times at venues along the Amalfi Coast, followed by a special concert at the Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno, a Benedictine abbey in the mountains about 60 miles northeast of Naples.
Ryley said the chorale usually performs twice a year but will occasionally join up with another group for additional
performances.
“We are an auditioned group,” Ryley said. “We really always have been but sometimes…it’s scary and a little intimidating to some people but it’s usually not a bad thing. The director just wants to hear your voice and see how it will blend in.”
Ryley said the chorale performs in a variety of musical genres.
“We sing some serious choral works of all periods, and sometimes we have lighter music as well,” she said. “We do show tunes sometimes and folk music of various types and jazz…it kind of depends on the focus of the concert.”
Sometimes, she explained, the chorale is accompanied by a full orchestra and other times by just an organ and piano.
“We have different combinations of instruments and things, so it all depends,” she continued. “We try to keep our programs varied so we’ll keep our audiences interested…The music is selected by the director.”
MRC Artistic Director Frank Martignetti of New Haven is fully up to the task, having regularly directed 18 different choral groups over the past 15 years. As he directs the MRC, he also directs the high school in the Community Chorus in New Haven, the choir of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Bridgeport, and the Chamber Singers and the University Singers of the University of Bridgeport.
“Over the past several years, I had become a real go-to person for building new and rebuilding dormant choral programs,” Martignetti said. “Although that’s very gratifying, I wanted the chance to also work with an established group with a strong history of success. The chance to work with the MRC was irresistible—to get to build on an excellent foundation, rather than starting from scratch. I was honored to be chosen as their next artistic director.”
Martignetti said everyone in the chorale has been extremely welcoming and supportive.
“The chorale is a wonderful, warm bunch of people, and I’ve been made very much at home,” he continued. “Our accompanist, Kathleen Bartkowski, and our board have been very helpful over the past 10 months. Our first concert last April was quite successful, and we’re gearing up for strong performances as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.”
“We’re so thrilled with him,” Ryley said of Martignetti. “It was a difficult selection process. We had several just wonderful candidates, but Frank just seemed to have what we were looking for…He’s very energetic, new to this area and brings a different perspective…He’s very knowledgeable, has an easygoing humor, and he’s well-organized. I love that part.”
“For me, it’s very gratifying to get to guide and shape the efforts of such talented people, shaping a musical result that is bigger and better than what any of us can achieve on our own,” Martignetti said. “The communal nature of choral music creates something greater than the sum of its parts. We live in a culture which stresses individualism to the point that many people feel isolated and alienated, so this is something that’s badly needed in the world. That’s a privilege for me.”
Ryley said one of the best aspects of being a part of the MRC is preparing music with the group of motivated musicians.
“The music itself is inspiring and beautiful,” she added. “Every year, every concert, there are new musical challenges that have helped us develop our voices and develop a repertoire and an appreciation for many different kinds of music.”
A singer since she was a little girl, through high school, college, as a young mother, and in church choirs, Ryley said singing has become a major part of her life.
“I love doing it,” she said. “I love the camaraderie with my fellow singers, and I have to say some of my best friends in life are people that I met through the chorale. Those friends are very important.”
With more singing groups emerging in the area, Ryley said there’s been more competition in gaining new members.
“In the chorale, there are over 40 members currently,” Ryley said, “and in other times of our history we have been larger. Our largest has been over 60.”
Ryley said she would love to invite new members but would suggest that interested singers wait until after MRC’s performance on Sunday, Jan. 18 in the Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College before joining.
“We get a steady stream of people in and out,” she explained. “It kind of depends on where they are in life, and we’ve had so many wonderful singers over the years. Every time we get a new one, we’re just thrilled and we’re sorry to see them go…that’s what keeps the group vital, which is to have new talent coming in and new ideas and new energy for the work.[Performing] is hard work. It seems like it’s just singing, but there’s a tremendous amount of learning that you have to do and vocal production and fine-tuning one’s voice and those kinds of things that come together to make music out of notes. It really involves quite a lot of decisions. We have long rehearsals, and we’re expected to work on the music between rehearsals. But we always end up with a group of people who are really dedicated to making fine music, and we always welcome others who would like to do the same.”
For more information about the Mystic River Chorale, visit www.mysticriverchorale.org.