The Choral Arts Society of Frederick (CASF) will be holding its bi-annual auditions in August to welcome new members in the fall.
Now celebrating its 80th season, the group has brought community members together in song for generations of diverse, multi-genre performances on its home stage at Frederick Community College.
And getting there did not come easy.
“We all know that many groups faced huge challenges through pandemic, and even COVID could not keep us down,” says Lynn Staininger, choral conductor and artistic director for the group. “We are very pleased to be here at the end of our 80th season.”
With that longevity, the choir has become a tradition that families can participate in together.
“We’ve had a lot of children tell their parents, ‘Hey Mom and Dad! You should come and sing with us!’” Staininger says, recalling, “Right now, we have a couple pairs of [fathers] and daughters singing with us. We also have a dad and two sons singing with us. One time, a student of mine invited his dad to join the choir. Now, we are truly blessed to have several pairs of parents and children,” Staininger says.
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Though most children are grown—the youngest member about 16 years old—the group is open to all ages and ranges in age, and also has members in their eighties.
“It is really cool to look at how the generations function, and the coolest thing is that you don’t catch any of the parent-and-child element at rehearsal,” Staininger says. “Everyone treats each other like a singer.”
As a community choir, CASF is unique for its opportunities to represent Frederick both locally and abroad. Last year, the group was invited to perform in France on D-Day.
“Sometimes, when we are lucky enough to participate in something as important as D-Day, the theme presents itself. Last fall, our theme was D-Day, and it also coincided with not only our 79th anniversary, but also the 79th anniversary of D-Day. It was just one of those little moments of serendipity,” she says.
Further demonstrating how music can be used to preserve major significant historical events in memory and tune, CASF is also scheduled to lend its voice for the commemoration of Pearl Harbor this year with “a little bit of Hawaiian, a little bit of Americana, a little bit of Holiday.”
“So, themes pop up, and I choose the music around the themes. Sometimes, the themes choose us,” Staininger says.” But it’s themes closest to home that reflect what’s most important in CASF.
“Last spring, I chose a program that reflected different members of the choir. It’s music that we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and it really challenged us and stretched our abilities as singers. The theme celebrated the people in the choir, who made our group what it is today, and what it has been for the past eighty seasons,” she explains.
CASF is an open-audition group, and auditions new members twice a year. For more information about its upcoming auditions, visit casof.org/join-the-choir.
