What started as a small group of people, who sang for the sake of singing, turned into an outreach program and has now grown into a successful citywide organization

The eyes of the singers look weary from their long days at school yet they are eager to begin this rehearsal. They have just walked in from various voice classes with Dunkin Donuts iced coffees in hand to keep them energized for just awhile longer. There are three rows of bright red chairs and they are divided into sections based on voice parts. Some of them are sitting down, catching up with friends, while others are trying to finish that last bit of homework. The director is in front of her music stand, energized while the rest of the singers look utterly exhausted. She raises her hand to sign that she is ready to begin. The spring concert is now over and the singers are beginning to rehearse for their upcoming summer tour. Although they are somewhat weary, there’s laughter to be heard and songs to be sung. The first song on the agenda for tonight is Siul a Run. It’s an emotional Celtic piece about a woman whose husband or loved one is going to war, and she’s worried that she will never see him again. This is a typical Tuesday night rehearsal in Dorchester for the concert chorus Boston City Singers.

Organizations like Boston City Singers do not happen over night. Director and manager, Jane Money can attest to that. BCS started off as a small choir that sang just for the sake of producing music. Now, it is much more than that. In 1995, the neighborhood of Dorchester wanted “the youth to sing in Peabody Square [during the Christmas season]” says Money. We were able to gather “a group of singers and turn it into an outreach program.” Now, it is thirteen years later and counting, it has become bigger than anyone could’ve imagined. BCS is such a diverse organization. There are singers who speak multiple languages, then there are singers who come from places as far off as Sharon Massachusetts, just to sing with such an outstanding organization. The chorus members of BCS attend schools throughout all of Boston and other parts of Massachusetts as well. Some of them attend Boston’s elite exam schools, while others are home schooled.  When the program first started, it was meant to be an outreach program. But now, there are various divisions of BCS. There are the three training chorus’; one in Dorchester, one in South Boston and one in Jamaica Plain. There is also the concert chorus in Dorchester.

This organization would not be the success it is without fundraising. BCS would’ve a limited amount of concerts as well as a limited amount of tours, if they didn’t have dedicated sponsors and fundraising. “BCS’s trip to New Zealand and Australia last summer had a large amount of fundraising [involved] and without it, the trip would not have been possible,” Money says. Fundraising enables BCS to do various events throughout the year such as the annual winter retreat in January. “So many people have believed in us, [over the years]” Money says. The chorus members of all the divisions have just finished raising money and participating in the Walk for Music. The singers are also preparing for their upcoming summer tour. This year the tour consists of New York City and Philadelphia. Although it’s a sad time because this year’s seniors will be leaving, new singers will be coming in. “We’ll miss the graduating seniors but, most of them come back to sing with us again,” Money says.

The music for BCS could be labeled as somewhat difficult but, the singers are always prepared. “We make sure the music is age appropriate,” says Money. The concert chorus has sung repertoire in various languages, but more recently in Celtic and Latin. “We want to expand their understanding [of music], not squash it,” says Money. The South Boston training chorus recently performed their spring concert for family and friends alike. They have worked very diligently with the help of rehearsal assistants, and director, Hannah Bingham. BCS hopes to grow in the next couple of years. It has been and will continue to be such an outstanding program to singers, parents and the staff of Boston City Singers.

Their rehearsal is now over and the bright red chairs are being put away in the various corners throughout the room. Singers are filing out with laughter as they go down the stairs and waiting for parents to pick them up. The large choir room that was once filled with bright red chairs is now empty and quiet, as rehearsal is over until Saturday.

-Erika