The Coshocton Community Choir, founded by and conducted by Charles R. Snyder is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this season. A celebration concert will be held on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at Coshocton High School's McKinley Auditorium. Here's a look back at the early years of the choir.
There doesn’t seem to be a printed history of community choral groups in Coshocton County, but we know that a concert featuring Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, was presented in 1905 at the Presbyterian Church.
In the mid-1960s, Frank Brownstead, director of music at the Presbyterian Church, launched two performances of Handel’s Messiah (1964), and the Brahms’ Requiem (1965). All three relied on singers from the community. In 1968, the Coshocton Music Club organized the Community Chorus, a group that provided musical entertainment for community functions. The Chorus became inactive in 1970.
"I returned to Coshocton in the fall of 1970 to teach at the newly-opened Middle School," said Snyder. "When asked if I would take over as the director of the Community Chorus, I declined. Being the children’s choir director and Scoutmaster at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, as well as teaching, I felt my plate was full."
Early in the fall of 1971, Snyder met with the City Schools superintendent, Roy McKinley, and shared his vision for a more permanent choral ensemble for Coshocton County. McKinley encouraged his efforts and pledged a rehearsal room at the Middle School. The first choir had 35 singers, and included parents of his students, fellow teachers, members of his church and Scout troop, and some singers from the previous community chorus.
400 were in the audience at Grace United Methodist Church for the debut performance of the Coshocton Community Choir! The musical menu was the Christmas portion of Messiah, with organ, string quartet, harpsichord, oboes, trumpets, local soloists, and a Columbus organist.
The 1972 second season included a joint Christmas concert at Grace United Methodist Church featuring the Community Choir, as well as the Community Band, conducted by Richard McCluggage. The following week, the Choir presented Messiah at Grace Church, and Helen Wright was the organist.
Messiah was again the musical menu for the 1973 third season, and eight strings enriched the sound of the orchestra. The Columbus organist got lost on Pleasant Valley Drive, and arrived twenty minutes late to Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Although they tried, the Choir was still not able to attract enough singers for a spring concert.
Snyder had a new job the following season, which didn’t leave time for rehearsals or concerts in 1974. But the Choir gathered 54 singers in the fall of 1975 and sang for the community Thanksgiving service at St. John’s United Church of Christ.
Sensing his disappointment, Coshocton Presbyterian Church organist Helen Wright visited Snyder at the Scout Camp in the summer of 1976. She encouraged him to continue with the Choir, and offered to be the accompanist and business manager. She offered The Presbyterian Church for rehearsals and the Christmas concert, and her expertise made a huge difference: there were 78 singers, and 800 in the audience!
That was the first season there was also a spring concert, and featured parts II and III of Messiah at Grace United Methodist Church. Those concerts, and many that followed, were sponsored and partially funded by the Coshocton County Council of Churches.
The 1977-78 season again included Messiah at The Presbyterian Church and field-tested a concert of largely a cappella selections at St John’s UCC. The concerts in 1978-1979 were again at St, John’s, and were largely a cappella, though Helen Wright and Patty Thompson supplied organ support.
The next few seasons saw the Choir singing for more community appearances: the Roscoe Village Candlelighting, a community Good Friday service, and an Easter sunrise service.
In 1981, 23 choir members joined Snyder in traveling to Columbus to hear The Concordia Choir at Capital University. It tuned their ears! The 1981/1982 season included sponsoring the Concordia Choir in a Coshocton concert. The Community Choir sang the closing concert for FESTIVAL II: Religion and the Arts, where they premiered Garry Cornell’s commissioned “In Glad Adoration.”
If you are a choir alumni and haven't yet received information about the 50th Anniversary Celebration, call the choir's office at 740-623-0554. Find more information about the Coshocton Community Choir, at www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org.
