The Carroll County Community Chorus celebrates four decades of musical memories with their Music to Remember concerts at the Carrollton Center for the Arts, April 12 and 13.

For the chorus’ 40th year, the group’s members and director put together a show featuring their favorite selections from the past.

“We chose songs from different genres for this show,” said Jack Gantt, the group’s conductor since 2013. “It’s really going to be a good program.”

The concerts include songs from a wide range of styles and artists, including Wind Beneath My Wings, Unforgettable, All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera and a tribute to the band Queen. Players from the Carroll Community Wind Ensemble, percussionists and an electric bass player will augment the accompaniment of pianist, Jan Adams, who has been with the chorus for more than 35 years. 

The Carroll County Community Chorus was organized in the fall of 1979 with 35 members under the direction of Hampton Kicklighter. It has more than doubled in size since then.

“We’ve come a long way in 40 years,” said Martha Smith, a charter member and past president of the chorus. “The Carroll County Community Theatre started in 1978 and the chorus started the next year. Our two groups have kind of been like the backbone of the cultural arts movement here. I keep thinking, maybe I’m getting too old for this but I just don’t want to quit yet. I love this chorus!”

Smith was one of a half dozen faculty members from the old Alabama Street School who were at the chorus’ first rehearsal at Carrollton High School 40 years ago. She said the chorus practiced wherever they could and performed in a variety of locations for years until the opening of the Carrollton Center for the Arts. Smith said the chorus’ success is due to the cooperative efforts of many people over the years and recognized the support of two long-time chorus champions: former Cultural Arts Director Deloris Covel and the chorus’ longest-serving director, Charles Allen, who conducted the group for 15 years.

“Music brings joy to the musicians as well as to those who hear it,” said the chorus’ current president, Carol Scheufler. Scheufler pointed out that a chorus members’ primary motivation – and the only pre-requisite to join — is a love of singing.

“Our concept is to have a group that is representative of the high quality we stand for in Carrollton,” said Gantt. “We want everyone in the community to be proud to say, ‘This is our community chorus.’”

What: Music to Remember presented by the Carroll County Community Chorus

When: Friday, April 12, 7:30pm, Saturday, April 13, 4pm

Admission: $10

For questions concerning this event or the Carrollton Center for the Arts, please call Tim Chapman, Arts Superintendent at (770) 838-1083.