The Augusta Choral Society
Jamie Lowe
The Augusta Choral Society was founded in 1951 by Emily Remington. Mrs. Remington was able to return last year, now over 90 years old, from her home in Charleston for the 60th Anniversary performance given by the Choral Society. The Executive Director, Carolyn Dolyn, met we me to discuss the gilded history of the non-profit organization.
The Choral Society, Mrs. Dolyn told me, accepts volunteers who donate their talent and time. Each singer is an unpaid volunteer ranging in age from seventeen years old to members into their mid-eighties. The performers go through a simple audition and, after being accepted, are expected to be at rehearsal every Tuesday for ten months out of the year and pay membership dues. There are scholarships available for students and financially needy who want to join the Society, because “[The Augusta Choral Society] wouldn’t want to turn a talented individual away because of dues”. Members also help sell advertisements for the Society’s performance programs during the season as well as helping out with several fundraisers during the year, with the largest fundraiser being the annual golf tournament that the society holds in the spring. The fundraising proceeds go to the cost of the Society’s performances each year.
There are normal four performances during a season, with professional musicians employed to bring live instrumental music to the performances. The Society may only have four performances in their season but never turns down the oppourtunity to perform. This year the Choral Society will perform alongside the Symphony Orchestra Augusta in two of the programs in the Symphony’s season. Most of the performances on the calendar for the Choral Society are held yearly at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, with an occasional concert at Saint Paul’s Church in downtown Augusta. Both locations are idea for setting a great ambiance for live instrumental and vocal music, being reverent and serene locations.
According to Mrs. Dolyn a personal, and crowd, favorite is the annual concert that the Choral Society holds in December, this year the “Baroque Christmas”. This concert, typically, showcases a performance of Handel’s Messiah which is what “everyone asks about all year”. Other concerts include the Memorial Day performance that the Choral Society has presented for the last four years consecutively. This performance deals less with the fist pumping, firework saluting “feel-good” emotions associated with mass patriotism movements and the Fourth of July. The performance is centered around the meaning of Memorial Day and addresses the pain and sadness of the men and women who sacrificed themselves for our country as the families and lives that they courageously left behind. Needless to say, this concert is a solemn and moving performance in the skillful pairing of song and montages of pictures and videos honoring the fallen. A novel concert appeared on this year’s Augusta Choral Society’s season calendar; February’s “It’s all about Love” concert. This performance will feature famous love songs and is a new leap that the Society is making. This concert will be presented on the tenth of February and tickets can be purchased in advance on the Choral Society’s website.
The Choral Society has had sixty-one tremendous years since its creation in 1951 and hopes to have sixty-one more fantastic years. If you would like information on how to support this non-profit or join the ranks of volunteer performers contact Executive Director Carolyn Dolen or Artistic Director Porter Stokes.
