Highlights in the development of Sounds of Stow
Jan 30, 2019
Ernest and Marie Goldman moved to Stow in 1972; coincidentally, Barbara Jones and her family did as well. Though they had lived a mere two miles apart in adjacent towns in New Jersey, they did not know each other then. Settling in the congenial town of Stow proved to be a fortuitous circumstance for them both, as well as for many members of the musical community here and beyond.
As was his life-long practice, Ernest immediately began to gather musicians around him, first at his house and later at First Parish Church in Stow, to make music together. These informal “soirees” evolved into more formal concerts. One of the first involved Stow’s Spring Festival, a weekend set aside in May for the town to celebrate the beauty of the community and the varied talents of those who made it their home. Ernest asked why there was no music associated with the celebration, and was told that he was free to organize it…which of course he did. The one stipulation at the time was that any performer had to live in Stow in order to participate. That first year, 1973, Ernest and Marie organized a program of chamber music and a “chorus” of twelve singers, directed by a local organist, Gwen Corzine. Subsequent music directors were Barbara Spencer and Don Reinke.
By the spring of 1978, Barbara had returned from two years in Iran and sang with the group in that concert. By 1979 all the resident choir directors had moved from Stow and the Stow Festival Chorus needed a director! Because she had more musical background than anyone else in the group, she was kicked up in front of the chorus, although she insisted that she had absolutely no idea of how to “flap” or communicate anything through gesture alone. She volunteered to select the music for that first concert, and finally realized the necessity of taking some sort of command. Somehow the group made it through that concert, Barbara became intrigued with learning more about the art of choral conducting, and the basis was laid for what would become the Sounds of Stow Chorus and Orchestra.
Starting in 1980, Barbara began attending summer courses focused in various aspects of the choral arts, mainly at what was then Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, now affiliated with Rider University. Meanwhile, Ernest was organizing concerts involving more ambitious chamber works, and suggested that the chorus appear at one of these in addition to at the annual Spring Festival concert. Starting in 1981, the chorus began to rehearse on a regular September-May schedule, and to appear in two concerts per season. Ernest served as accompanist at weekly rehearsals which Barbara directed. By this time, the rule that singers had to live in Stow to participate, had been dropped and the group welcomed participants from an increasing number of neighboring towns.
Ernest had always desired to explore and perform all twenty-three of Mozart’s piano concerti, as well as those of other composers. An orchestra was assembled, enabling Barbara to select choral music with orchestral accompaniment. The first foray into this repertoire was Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. Ernest and Barbara coordinated all aspects of the concerts, which were open to all without charge. Free babysitting was provided. No one – soloists, instrumentalist, accompanist, director – was paid in this growing, all-volunteer organization, as old-school Ernest felt strongly that music should be made for the love of it, not for financial compensation.
By the mid-to-late 1980’s, a pattern had emerged – large choral/orchestral works plus an instrumental concerto presented at the November and March concerts, while the annual Spring Festival concert in May continued to feature local musicians of all ages, as well as interesting and challenging selections by the chorus.
The March 1991 concert featuring Gounod’s “St. Cecilia Mass” was the final performance at First Parish, as the chorus, orchestra and audience had grown beyond the bounds of the sanctuary. In November 1991 the group moved to the only larger meeting space in town, Center Schools’ café-gym-a-torium, where the group performed Mozart’s magnificent “C-minor Mass”, and subsequently many other significant works, under a basketball hoop! The musical quality continued to develop and expand to include concerti by Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms. Later instrumental concerti would include violin concerti by Mendelssohn, and Britten as well as other works featuring the excellent players from the orchestra.
By the early 1990’s, it was clear that a more formal structure was required to manage the increasing logistical and other requirements of the group. Bob Glorioso spearheaded the push to incorporate as a non-profit, which necessitated coming up with a board of directors and settling on an official name for the group. Sounds of Stow was formally incorporated in April 1992. The Directors named at that time were Robert Glorioso, Ernest Goldman, Barbara Jones, Katherine Kleitz, Margot Law and Mary Redford. The President was Jean Pendleton, Treasurer was Hannah Pemberton, and Clerk was Bob Hess.
For the next decade, Ernest and Barbara managed the organization’s early artistic and financial growth. Ernest and Barbara were the co-artistic directors, and Barbara was the virtual Treasurer with much help from her husband, Greg. They recruited others to help them copy and distribute flyers, contact media, schedule venues, etc. If they couldn’t get help, they did the leg work themselves.
In 2002 it became apparent that they couldn’t handle the increasing load alone and sought help from members. A meeting was held at the Jones’ house to discuss the future of the Sounds of Stow. Bob Glorioso agreed to help get the process going and several chorus members volunteered to assist. Dee Glorioso agreed to host the meetings.
Meetings were then held monthly at the Glorioso’s home, as Bob took the Vice President slot and Ruth Lull agreed to be the first formal President. Bob provided structured agendas, minutes, and job descriptions. When Bob assumed the position of President in 2005, he discovered that Sounds of Stow was not a 501(c)3, a designated non-profit corporation. Geoff Lull’s and Bob’s diligence resulted in the Sounds of Stow receiving retroactive charitable status on September 28, 2005, just six weeks later.
Through the decade of the 1990’s and into the new century, the Sounds of Stow continued to grow in size and regional importance. In addition to exploring familiar pillars of the standard choral/orchestral repertoire, Barbara became focused on finding worthy music that was underperformed due to a catch 22 – it was underperformed because performance materials (scores, orchestra parts, recordings) did not exist because the works were not performed. Using hand-written orchestra parts generously provided by New England Conservatory’s library, Barbara led the group in the first performance in over a century of Amy Beach’s “Grand Mass in E-Flat”, first in Stow in November 1994, then on January 22, 1995 in Boston. Not only did the Boston Globe honor the performance with a good review, but a recording of the concert was marketed by Albany Records and has been played over classical radio stations nationwide. The Sounds of Stow later returned to perform the work again in 2005, this time with the benefit of its own materials to improve the original performance. Similarly, Barbara researched and performed a newly discovered Mass by Berlioz, first performed by Tanglewood Chorus on a tour to China. Stow was next to hear the work!
In November 1998 the Sounds of Stow abandoned the aesthetically and acoustically challenged space at Center School in favor of the newly constructed auditorium at Hale Middle School. The first performance there in November 1998 featured Robert Levin’s new completion of Mozart’s “Requiem”.
Ernest continued to act as accompanist until his retirement March 2009 at the age of 95. His love of music, command of the classical repertoire, generous spirit and inclusive attitude set the tone for the group, which it maintains to this day. He remained our accompanist until that time, when the Sounds of Stow as fortunate to hire Pauline Oliver as accompanist. In recognition of growing expenses, including rental of rehearsal and performance space, the group reluctantly abandoned the “free of charge” admission and began selling tickets to help the group support its musical endeavors.
The Sounds of Stow has collaborated over the years with other area choruses including the Nashoba Valley Chorale and Salisbury Singers to present Verdi’s “Requiem” in 1998 and with the Master Singers of Worcester, Assabet Valley Mastersingers, and Symphony Pro Musica to present Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony” in 2002 at Mechanics Hall. The group was joined by Harvard Pro Musica for an all-Eric Whitacre program in May 2010, and enjoyed presenting “Missa Gaia” with the First Parish Church Choir in May 2014. A recent and memorable collaboration with the Worcester Choral Society, Salisbury Singers and the Master Singers of Worcester culminated with a thrilling performance of Britten’s “War Requiem” under the direction of Jack Goodwin in November 2017 at Mechanics Hall.
Other memorable performances include those of Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610”, Handel’s oratorios “Jephtha” and “Samson”, Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio”, Haydn’s “Creation”, Jenkins’ “The Armed Man”, Horatio Parker’s “Hora Novissima”, and many other works. The Sounds of Stow is celebrating its 40th Anniversary Season in 2018-2019, all under the direction of Barbara Jones. The group continues its commitment to presenting repertoire of the highest quality, operating on the premise that this music is available to amateur singers who enjoy the challenge of the rehearsals, with the promise of sharing the stage with excellent vocal soloists, accompanied by full orchestra. The Sounds of Stow has demonstrated that through its common efforts and varied backgrounds and talents, it can transcend personal limitations and enhanced by the power of each other, can access the powerful insights contained in these works, our musical inheritance.
Past Presidents include:
Ruth Lull
Robert Glorioso
Margot Law
Christina Kennedy
Madge Evans
Kevin Wesley
Miriam Smith
Barbara Jones, Robert Glorioso, Liz Moseley, Katherine Kleitz and Susan Johnson contributed to this history.