TOLEDO, Ohio — It says something when an institution reaches the century mark, especially one that is devoted to the arts.
The commitment it takes from countless people through the years to keep the sound of music ringing through a concert hall, or to keep people coming back to a museum time and time again cannot be overstated.
That’s what makes the Toledo Choral Society's current season so special.
On Sunday, the members of the society kicked off their season with a 100th anniversary celebration concert.
The concert was actually two years in the making. Like so many things, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the event back from its original scheduled date in Spring 2020.
The Choral Society’s was actually founded in 1919, not 1922.
Astoundingly, in those 100+ years, the society has had just four directors; Mary Willing Megley (1919 – 1954), Lester McCoy (1954 – 1958), Sam Szor (1958 – 2012), and current director Richard Napierala (2012 – present).
Currently, the Choral Society has about 100 members, united in their love for performing choral pieces, from classics, like Handel’s Messiah, to new pieces like they performed at the 100th anniversary concert.
Handel’s Messiah in fact was the very first piece the Choral Society performed at Trinity Church in January 1920, which has since become a tradition for the group.
According to their website, in it’s second year, the society boasted 287 singers.
That it is still going strong 100 years later is a testament to the power of choral music, the singers and musicians and the directors who through the years who have kept it going strong.
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