Western Reserve Chorale

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Shaker Heights, OH
Western Reserve Chorale

THE WESTERN RESERVE CHORALE (WRC) is a non-profit, one-hundred voice community choir led by Artistic Director David Gilson. Call 216-282-4022 for details.

Rehearsals are Tuesdays 7:15-9:30 p.m. Sept. - May
New members are welcome. Founded in 1992, the Western Reserve Chorale has been following its mission to harmoniously advance the joy of music in Northeast Ohio by providing free public concerts and an engaging opportunity for members to experience the challenge and camaraderie brought through rehearsing and performing a wide variety of choral wor

ks. With a membership of over 120 singers of varying musical backgrounds, the Chorale sings music from many periods and styles, including newly commissioned works. WRC’s repertoire includes traditional choral standards and newer works for chorus and orchestra by Brahms, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Dan Forrest, Karl Jenkins, Ola Gielo, John Rutter and more. Rehearsals are in person at Church of the Saviour in Cleveland Heights every Tuesday evening from 7:15 - 9:30 PM, September-June). Prospective members are welcome to come and sit in on a rehearsal. While auditions are not required, it is expected that members be able to read music, blend acoustically, follow choral direction and attend rehearsals regularly. Please contact our Executive Director Stacy Newman at (216) 282-4022 or [email protected].

06/09/2026

Bringing the LOVE to Ohio Living Breckenridge Village❤️ WRC performs Love in 3/4 Time for a wonderful audience.

06/08/2026

Thank you to all who came to our performance yesterday. It was a beautiful day to sing about LOVE!
❤️❤️❤️

05/31/2026

Next Sunday: JUNE 7th
Western Reserve Chorale
Spring Concert: LOVE IN ¾ TIME
3:30 pm, First Baptist Church, Shaker Heights.
Children are welcome! There will be an intermission!

Two easy guidelines for children at concerts:
If the children are older (grade school and beyond), sitting nearer the stage will make the concert more interesting to them.

If the children are younger (K and younger), it's good to sit near an aisle/exit. If they become restless or disruptive, you can make an easy exit.

Concert ideas for young children:
Encourage quietly "conducting" along with the rhythm.
Let them quietly tap the beat on their legs or a soft seat cushion to stay involved with the music.
Bring notebooks for drawing pictures inspired by the melodies.
We do not encourage food and drink during the concert.

Do you have positive tips for kids at concerts?
Add them in the Comments section below.

05/27/2026

**UPDATE

“LOVE IS A SICKNESS” by Dale Trumbore

SHA BM, SHA BM…Dm bah dah du-dah. Ba du du du-wah. This jazzy, syncopated, joyful rendition takes its text from Samuel Daniel’s poem written in 1614. Updated to this SATB score in 2006 by Dale Trumbore, the Western Reserve Chorale members morph into a DooWop group whilen in rehearsal, and soon, in performance.

Love is a sickness full of woes,
All remedies refusing;
A plant that with most cutting grows,
Most barren with best using.
Why so?
More we enjoy it, more it dies;
If not enjoyed, it sighing cries,
Heigh ho!

As the composer explains, “This jazzy piece takes nonsense words already in the text and adds s**t syllables, creating a swinging accompaniment to the lovelorn melody.“ ”Love is a Sickness“ was named a winner of the Chanticleer Student Composer Competition when Trumbore was 18 years old.

Attend the free concert on Sunday, June 7 at 3:30 pm, and watch the Chorale rock out, even if the dour words promise otherwise!

First Baptist Church, 3630 Fairmount Blvd., Shaker Heights OH 44118
Photo Credit: Dale Trumbore

05/25/2026

Johannes Brahms wrote his Liebeslieder Waltzes (Love Song Waltzes) in 1868-69. To put this in world history perspective, our American Civil War ended in 1865, three years before Brahms began writing the Liebeslieder Waltzes. Brahms was born the same year as Alfred Nobel (1833), the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who established the Nobel Prizes.

Johannes Brahms likely intended his Liebeslieder Waltzes to be played in parlors or informal home gatherings rather than in grand concert halls. He used a simple, typical waltz rhythm (think: oom-pah-pah) with simple, easy-to-sing folk lyrics and melodies. Immediately successful, these waltzes were responsible for much of Brahms' personal wealth.

The Western Reserve Chorale hopes you enjoy these waltzes at our June 7th concert as much as we do!

05/21/2026

Love, Love, Love!
All You Need Is Love was written by John Lennon in 1967, during the height of the Vietnam War and the counterculture movement. The song acted as a universal message of peace, arguing that fundamental human goodwill is more powerful than division or material wealth.
We'll be performing this song at our concert!
Join us, and sing along with us on this song.
June 7th, at 3:30 pm
First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland
3630 Fairmount Blvd., Shaker Heights

05/20/2026

"That Which Remains"

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. A sunset, a mountain bathed in moonlight, the ocean in calm and in storm - we see these, love their beauty, hold the vision to our hearts. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us..."

The lyrics of this song, That Which Remains, were written by Helen Keller in 1929, as part of a 39-page essay she wrote, titled We Bereaved. She wrote this essay in response to the many letters from grieving individuals who wrote to her, asking for solace in their personal losses. In her essay, Helen Keller wrote about love, loss, enduring memories, and the comforting idea that love is stronger than death.

Washburn Rural High School, in Topeka, Kansas, commissioned Dr. Andrea Ramsey, formerly a professor of music at Ohio State University, to create this piece of music.

We will be performing this beautiful song in our June 7th concert. Join us and celebrate Love - in all its facets.

05/18/2026

The Western Reserve Chorale, conducted by Artistic Director, David Gilson, presents its spring concert, LOVE IN ¾ TIME, on Sunday afternoon, June 7 at 3:30 pm at First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights.

The first half of the concert features the Liebeslieder Waltzes by Johannes Brahms. The Chorale will perform the German songs accompanied by the four-hand piano artistry of Elizabeth DeMio and Maggie Johns.

The second half of the concert will highlight a variety of approaches to the topic of love from Spanish poets, Garcilaso de la Vega and Pablo Neruda, to meaningful texts by Helen Keller and George Matheson, to the song stylings of Lennon and McCartney.

Of “note,” a singular piece, I LOVE YOU/WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD, arranged by Craig Hella Johnson, will certainly evoke an emotional response. Many are familiar with Louis Armstrong’s distinctive voice from the 1967 recording of “What a Wonderful World” by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. The song is now regarded as one of the top 500 songs of all time (Rolling Stone), with artists such as Jon Batiste, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart and Willie Nelson recording their versions.
Craig Hella Johnson is a Grammy Award winner who is the founding artistic director of the choral group, Conspirare. Dr. Johnson combined “I Love You,” an early contemporary Christian piece by Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill, with “What a Wonderful World,” definitely a marvel of musical construction.

This concert is free and open to the public. Donations gratefully accepted at the door and online.
Western Reserve Chorale
David Gilson, Artistic Director
LOVE IN ¾ TIME
Sunday, June 7, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland
3630 Fairmount Blvd., Shaker Heights
More information and live stream link:
westernreservechorale.org
216-282-4022

05/15/2026

A Chorus of Love - Support WRC's Annual Fund Drive and enjoy our upcoming concert, Love in 3/4 Time. Donations made today through May 25th will be matched up to a total of $10,000. - https://mailchi.mp/acae0363a188/love-in-3_4-time-18256734

Address

3630 Fairmount Boulevard
Shaker Heights, OH
44118

Telephone

+12162824022

Website

http://www.westernreservechorale.org/, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587182460917

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