A LOOK BACK AT THE CHORAL CELEBRATION OF MLK

LOOKING BACK at the CHORAL CELEBRATION of the  MISSION OF MLK     by Barbara Biddison

It certainly was a celebration on January 16 at the Wellsboro HS
Auditorium.  Six local choirs/choruses/ensembles, and soloists, as
well as five individuals presenting "The Radical Legacy of MLK" in
spoken word.  The auditorium was nearly full.  And the audience joined in singing familiar songs from "Lift  Every Voice and Sing" to "Blowin' in the Wind."  Informative, inspiring, appropriate--all of it.

We do love to sing here in Wellsboro!  The youngest HG children looked to be maybe 9 or 10, and I won't guess at ages for the Women's and Men's Choruses but some of them aren't 50 anymore!  And we love to
speak too, as evidenced in the spoken word sections.  This may be the only time during the year that we get to sing together, on the same stage.   So who do we get to thank for all this reminder and celebration and annual attention to Martin Luther King Jr.  It all runs so smoothly that we don't even think about "Whose idea was this?
and how did all these singers have something so appropriate to offer?"  Well, of course the singing groups rehearse on their own, and that demands a commitment.  But it's Thomas Putnam who starts it up, gets the ball
rolling, has new ideas  (such as the spoken word component this year) and of course rehearses his own choirs who will sing..  It is a noble reminder that we all appreciate and benefit from each year.

There are many reasons to love living in Wellsboro,  This Choral Celebration is one of them.  It's way at the top of my list!

[Many thanks to all the directors and accompanists of the choral groups, all the singers and instrumentalists, all the tech folk, all the behind the scenes folk, all the readers, and Ashley Wilson. It takes a village... twp]

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