Hanover Community Singers end after 25 years [The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa.]

Nov. 03--The maestro takes his perch in front of his choir and knows a wave of his hand will command a collective, mighty force.

At that moment, each individual sound -- 165 to 180 voices, a skilled orchestra and that blessed pipe organ -- entwined in one harmonic overture. In an instant the noise saturates the audience. Though the conductor's back is turned, the rising energy in the church fuels his vigor.

"There's nothing I've ever experienced in my life, like standing on that podium in front of all those singers," Scott Fredericks said. "It moved me to tears that last day -- I could cry right now. I know that I'll never again have that exact -- I don't know what to call it."

The surge of the symphony is ineffable, yet undeniable.

"When I look in those singers' eyes when we sing these beautiful songs, there is a connection that you make," Fredericks said. "People from different life experiences, different types of employment, we come together for four minutes and we really become one. That's one of the great things about music. It's a unifier."

Around this time of year, Fredericks would normally be preparing to experience the rush again at rehearsals for the group's Christmas concert.

Instead, the Hanover Community Singers held a banquet celebrating 25 years of concerts, honoring the hundreds of volunteer performers and their reliable leaders, Fredericks, the conductor, and Karen Buckwalter, the group's accompanist. The ministers of music at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church on West Chestnut Street who founded the group have delighted the community while leading the choir.

After the 2013 spring concert, the pair decided to put an end to their venture. Fredericks wants to make more time for family, and Buckwalter put her house up for sale and will soon move to Florida.

"We are reluctantly giving this up," Fredericks said. "We're both having life changes. It was a wonderful 25 years. We didn't want to see the dynamics change. We couldn't take the risk."

A dreamer and a realist

The Hanover Community Singers were formed out of an experiment in 1987. That fall, Buckwalter, then at Lohr'sUnited Methodist Church, was asked to direct a choir of unified churches for a concert, but was unable to do so from her seat at the organ. Fredericks filled in and the concert went so well they decided to repeat the formula.

Capped at 180 members, the Singers have performed a free concert every Christmas and again in the spring. There were no auditions -- anyone can join -- but there was a waiting list, which grew to 40 during the group's peak.

"I think that's why it worked," Buckwalter said. "People could sign up for six to eight weeks and it was only a short-term commitment."

The group's selections included sacred anthems, patriotic tunes and pops-concert classics. They've played in front of packed churches, 750 strong, on Saturday and Monday evenings and Sunday afternoons, sharing the stage with orchestras, bell choirs and the famed pianist Joseph Martin.

Most performances were held at Saint Matthew, but they've also performed locally at Moul Field, Hanover High School and South Western High School, and as far away as Germany and Austria. Still, the trip in the group's first year to be part of the Christmas Pageant of Peace in Washington D.C. still stands out above all.

Buckwalter remembers the lighting of the Christmas tree, the choir's white 'HCS' scarves, and trying to stay warm before the performance with bonfires and hot chocolate, but mostly she remembers the biting cold.

On that 10-degree day, the pianist cut the tips of the fingers off each of her gloves so she could wear them as she played. She then placed hand warmers in her coat pockets, plunging her hands in between songs to bring sensation back to her fingers.

"I told him to talk a lot between pieces because that was the only way I'd have time to warm my hands," Buckwalter said. "I never experienced so much pain shooting up my fingers."

As if that wasn't enough, Buckwalter explained that one of the ivory keys of the piano stiffened into place while it was pressed down.

"Every time I went to use it, I had to think ahead to pick it up so I could put it back down," she said.

Accompanying the choir required other sacrifices as well. Only twice was Buckwalter able to stand in front of the singers to hear the frontal serenade.

She also had the sometimes thrilling, and other times painstaking duty of being Fredericks' sounding board. In the early days, the pair would sit down for lunch at the old Blue and White Grille at 14 Carlisle St. where a Subway now stands, and plan upcoming concerts.

"I'm a big dreamer and she's more of a realist," Fredericks said. "Until someone proves my dream won't work, I dream. The community singers was really a dream."

With a subtle smile, Buckwalter just nods, but she said she wouldn't dream of trying to temper his imagination.

"No one keeps him in line," she said with a laugh. "He's omnipotent."

Added Fredericks: "Sometimes you just have to step out and make it happen."

At the Blue and White, they discussed insurance costs, legal fees for creating a limited liability corporation, the cost of guest artists, travel and other responsibilities. The first few years, they sold ham and cheese sandwiches to raise funds. As they gained popularity, dozens of community contributions made it unnecessary. The leaders were touched by the town's generosity.

"Hanover takes care of their own and beyond," Fredericks said.

To reciprocate, the Singers have a yearly scholarship for high school- or college-aged singers. They also encouraged generosity, collecting more than $65,000 cans of food for the Annual Hanover Foods Feed-A-Friend Marathon.

The final banquet

After the musicians had eaten and shared memories, they went into the church one last time, and without the help of the famed-Austin organ's 14,341 pipes, sang three of their favorite hymns, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You," "It Is Well with My Soul," and "God Be with You Until We Meet Again."

As she held back tears, Buckwalter felt a chill, hearing the group without having to focus on the organ for one of the first times.

"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, just listen to that sound,'" she said. "They sounded fabulous and we hadn't even rehearsed."

Though the group has disbanded, Fredericks will continue to lead all things music at Saint Matthew. Buckwalter will continue in her job until her move. Still, Fredericks knows that his future productions in the building won't be anything like what they created with the Singers.

"The singers felt the connection to me, the audience felt the connection to the singers and we all just kind of got it," he said. "It's not like all choirs around the world. Choirs sing to empty houses sometimes. For people to be so supportive, it's great."

Contact Adam Michael at 637-3736 ext. 123

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