Harmonic convergence: Acton Chorus celebrating its 80th (and 75th) anniversary

The Acton Chorus was supposed to mark 75 years with a major anniversary concert in 2021.

Instead, its members logged on to Zoom.

“We were planning on having a big celebration, but that was the Covid year,” said Alan Proctor, a 15-year member of the chorus. 

Even as rehearsals and performances were canceled, the chorus continued meeting online. They held workshops and distributed informal musical exercises to stay connected when singing together in person was not possible.

“We continued meeting on Zoom — not really to sing, because we couldn’t,” said Jason Grant, chair of the chorus’ executive committee. The director would also send practice files for members to use on their own. Between the two, Grant said, “That kept us together, and it was a way of keeping our instruments in practice.”

On May 17, the Acton Chorus will mark its 80th anniversary with a performance with the Masterworks Chorale and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, drawing on plans set aside during the pandemic.

The program will feature Johannes Brahms’ “German Requiem,” the same work the chorus performed for its first-ever concert in 1946, alongside a newly commissioned piece by composer Jonathan Bailey Holland. Both were originally planned for the 75th anniversary. 

“The 80th seemed a good time to have a do-over,” Grant said. 

A musical history

The Acton Chorus was formed in 1945 after a selection from Brahms’ “Requiem” was performed jointly by Acton’s church choirs at the invitation of Unitarian minister Perry Daniels. 

Interest quickly grew. That fall, conductor Nancy Loring, along with Katherine K. Davis and Ellen Gage, organized the first formal rehearsal.

Nearly 125 residents showed up to rehearse the full Brahms work using just 50 available scores.

By May 1946, the group had officially become the Acton Chorus and presented the complete “German Requiem” to honor World War II soldiers.

“The Brahms Requiem is the whole reason the Acton Chorus exists in the first place,” said music director Kevin Leong.

Sustaining notes

Proctor said the chorus has held together for 80 years for two reasons: music and connection. 

“That the chorus could continue with weekly Zoom meetings through two years of Covid is an indication of how important the community was for the people who belonged,” he said. “The quality of music helped, too.” 

Grant agreed. 

“To sing music like this, you have to have people coming together to experience something,” he said. “You’re joining together for a common purpose, and out of that grows some other, deeper friendships. Some of our best friends are in the chorus.”

The group, he said, has been rebuilding since Covid. Now, they get to have the celebration they had to cancel. 

Leong, the chorus director, hopes concertgoers connect with two very emotional pieces of music.

“Holland really is giving us the experience of loss before we receive Brahms’ comfort from that loss,” Leong said. “We’re hoping that the audience will be moved, mainly emotionally, from this experience of grief and comfort.”

To him, a chorus is the perfect way to summon those emotions. 

“The sound of many people acting in concert,” he said, “is a powerful feeling.”

The Acton Chorus will mark its 80th anniversary at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, at Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington. The concert is a collaboration with the Masterworks Chorale and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and will feature soprano Carley DeFranco and baritone Dana Whiteside. Find more information at concordchorus.org.