PORT ANGELES — The NorthWest Women’s Chorale and the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers will join forces this evening during a concert at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 N. Lopez Ave.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. Entry is by the suggested donation of $15.
The Chorale will sing several selections to complement the concert of the Gospel Singers.
The concert was inspired during a conversation between Joy Lingerfelt, director of the Chorale, and Michael Rivers, director of the Gospel Singers, about the group’s origins at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
“As the resident Chorale at Holy Trinity, we are delighted to host the men in this concert,” Lingerfelt said.
“It will be an opportunity for them to get back in this wonderful space which they have long been absent from. Both groups have appreciated the generosity and support in our beginnings at Holy Trinity.”
Said Rivers: “We started singing at Holy Trinity at a Sunday evening soup supper ministry. After the service, some of us would sit around the piano and sing. There would be as many as 15 at one time.
“We would take requests. As the vision for what we might do began to grow, Pastor Charles Mays provided funding and encouragement.”
Lingerfelt is the founding director of NorthWest Women’s Chorale and has lived on the Olympic Peninsula since 2002.
With a master of music degree from Southern Illinois University and a bachelor of music in piano performance from Pacific Lutheran University, she currently serves as deacon at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
“Joy brings unparalleled musical excellence to Port Angeles,” Rivers said.
“When I heard her play a Bach piano concerto, the performance was electric with en masse standing ovation. She brings outstanding musicianship to everything she does.”
Rivers is the founding director of the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers — now in its 15th season — and said he is proud to be working with dedicated singers who commit countless hours to learning music, rehearsing together, singing for home bound patients and giving concerts throughout the Peninsula.
Rivers studied at Valparaiso University in Indiana, earning his Bachelor of Music Education in 1982.
He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1987, and was a performing songwriter in the Seattle folk scene during the mid-1990s — appearing at the Bite of Seattle and Tacoma First Night Festivals.
He has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1991.
Rivers also works as a vocal coach with singers of all ages, actively writes and produces music and is currently working on a new album.
________
Features Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at cmcdaniel@ peninsuladailynews.com.
