By Courtney Hess

The Dublin Singers have lifted their voices in the area since 1996, and this year they lift them in celebration, as well. The group commemorates 15 years in 2010.

The group has provided an opportunity for singers beyond their high school years to perform for the Dublin community. Directed by founder Mary Fran Cassidy, the Dublin Singers perform a wide variety of choral music, including sacred, classical, popular, show tunes and folk music. The group is funded in part by a grant from the Dublin Arts Council.

With their season running September through May, the Dublin Singers perform shorter concerts at community events throughout Columbus, as well as two major performances each year: a Christmas concert in early December and their annual Spring Show. This year’s Spring Show, “The Dublin Singers on Old Broadway,” is from April 30 to May 2 at the Abbey Theater in the Dublin Community Recreation Center (5600 Post Rd.).

Audiences will get a taste of Broadway with favorite tunes from Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music and West Side Story, to name a few. Arranger/composer Len Thomas will be a guest at this years’ Spring Show, as the Dublin Singers will be performing a medley he arranged from West Side Story.

The idea of creating a community chorus took root when Cassidy realized there was no such group in Dublin.

“I love community choruses”, says Cassidy, who formerly was a member and director of the Cambridge Singers of Ohio. “I have 20 years of experience and when I asked the Dublin Arts Council, they were really interested.”

Currently there are 38 members in the Dublin Singers. The group is available to anyone from high school graduates and older. There is a variety of ages within the mixed chorus, with singers in their 20s through their 70s.

“We like to emphasize that we are a community chorus, with the emphasis on community. We do community building exercises when we begin our season. We welcome anyone who has a love of music and a willingness to work hard. We have a wide range of experience within the group, and we even have a man in the military,” Cassidy says.

Rehearsals for the Dublin Singers are very organized, yet flexible. Every Thursday from 7-9 p.m. the singers gather for two hours of voice training and perfecting their performance pieces.

“I like to begin each rehearsal with sort of a mini voice lesson, with physical and vocal warm-ups,” Cassidy says. “I like to focus on tone quality and I’m a stickler on phrasing and diction. And then (we) practice the music.”

For information on the Dublin Singers, visit www.dublinsingers.org.  

Courtney Hess is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.