Community Chorus
The South Burlington Community Chorus invites you to come ‘n sing with us this spring, as conductor Piero Bonamico leads a program of hits from Broadway’s Golden Era. Rehearsals start January 30 and are held on Monday evenings from 7-9 pm, in the Multi-Purpose Room at the South Burlington High School. Singers are asked to pay a $50 registration fee, and the cost of music is $16 for the semester. You can register online through the South Burlington Recreation Department at www.sburlrecdept.com, in the “Education and Hobbies” section.
The Chorus’s rehearsal season this spring features a special “Singers’ Boot Camp” for the first 4 weeks. In those sessions the first hour of rehearsal will cover the basics of choral singing for those who have never done it before (but always wanted to). These no-obligation classes will cover how to read a score, how to understand the conductor’s gestures, how to read rhythms, and how to sing with beauty and expressiveness. In the second hour, you will join SBCC members in practicing the music for the concert. If you choose to stay with the Chorus after the Boot Camp, you will be fully up to speed with the rest of the group! The Singers’ Boot Camp is free to South Burlington residents; those who live in other towns are asked to pay $10 to cover the cost of materials.
The Chorus welcomes anyone who likes to sing, no matter where you live. Our Broadway program features music by Irving Berlin, the Gershwin brothers, and Richard Rodgers. You will surely find a favorite among selections from Annie Get Your Gun, Carousel, Easter Parade, The King and I, Oklahoma!, Porgy and Bess, South Pacific, State Fair and of course The Sound of Music. Beloved standards including Cheek to Cheek, Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, Puttin’ On the Ritz, They Can’t Take That Away From Me and (yes) White Christmas are also included. The composers’ entire range of styles is showcased, from ragtime to ballad to gospel, blues and swing, salsa, waltz and polka, and even grand opera.
Come to the South Burlington High School on January 30 and give singing with the Chorus a try!
About the Chorus…
The South Burlington Community Chorus was founded in 1973. There are no auditions to join our Chorus. Anyone can join from anywhere! The only requirement is the desire and willingness to learn, have fun and be committed to helping our Chorus be a vibrant and quality group. We do our best to keep membership dues and costs to a minimum so that as many people can join as are interested. Part of our mission is to have funds available to help those with financial need participate as well.
We believe singing is good for your health, spirit and well-being. Singing is a wonderful, uplifting way to communicate and connect with those in our community and beyond. We strive for excellence in our performances and enjoy making wonderful music accessible to our friends and neighbors for a reasonable cost.
Every year we perform a concert at Holiday time and another in the spring, as well as participate as invited Guest Chorus at other events around the state. As funds allow, we have instrumental musicians accompany us where appropriate. We must pay for these professionals. We have, in the past, participated in the Vermont Sings for Peace Concert , the South Burlington National Night Out Event and the Vermont International Choral Festival, just to name a few. We are supported financially, in part, by the City of South Burlington. However, in order to remain a vibrant, viable community organization we must raise more funds.
We are a Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to providing an opportunity to all who have the desire to come and SING with us!
The chorus meets Monday Evenings from 7:00-9:00pm at the South Burlington High School. The Fall Session begins in early September and the Spring Session begins in February. To Register for the upcoming season Click Here.
About our Conductor…
Piero Bonamico leads a diverse musical life from his home in Vermont. He has conducted the Mad River Chorale since 1996, and in 2009 he was appointed as conductor of the South Burlington Community Chorus and founded the Young Singers Chorus of Vermont where he conducts two of the organization’s ensembles. Mr. Bonamico has served as musical director for numerous musical theater productions and is an active guest conductor at festivals and workshops.
Mr. Bonamico performs regularly as a solo vocalist and is a founding member of Robert De Cormier’s ensemble Counterpoint. He made his New York solo debut in The Vegas Show at the Laurie Beechman Theater on West 42nd Street and his Boston debut in Act IV, A Night of Music and Musings at the renowned Sculler’s Jazz Club. The Vegas Show was his third project with New York jazz pianist Gregory Toroian following A Night of Italian Song (2007) and Songs You’ll Know (2004). Of the latter concert, American Record Review’s Jim Lowe wrote: “...Vocally Bonamico is always attractive, and in songs like the Kurt Weill- Maxwell Anderson “September Song” and the Lerner and Loewe “On the Street Where You Live,” his mellifluous tenor was applied expressively and attractively… the meaning of each song clearly conveyed to the receptive standing-room-only house.”
