The Hills are Alive
Photography: Courest of B.J. Reed and Don Weller
You may have seen them caroling on Main Street. You may have caught one of their concerts throughout the year. But you may not have known exactly who “they” are. They are the Park City Singers, celebrating ten years of performance this winter.
A group of local residents who loved to sing banded together in 1995 to create a community choir that would take its level of excellence seriously. Since then, consistent practices and performances have made a name for the Park City Singers, who were called upon to perform, sometimes twice daily, during the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Members reminisce about singing at 7 a.m. in a blizzard for one Olympic event. The combination of the early hour and inclement weather so affected one of the gentlemen’s voices, he was kindly asked not to sing, but mouth the words instead. Nevertheless, whether getting soaked with water gun spray while participating in our infamous July 4th parade, or doing the chicken dance at the Paralympics, the Park City Singers always manage to have a good time. Group members, who range in age from teenagers to 80-year-olds and from 20 members to 70 participants during the Christmas high season, have many stories to tell, “but we just couldn’t put them in print,” laughs one longtime member who requested not to be named. Members quickly become good friends, and a number of them have been with the group for years, with a handful of original members still at the Singers’ core.
The camaraderie of the group, says one member, comes from the fact that the kind of people who move to Park City are often looking for a change in lifestyle from the high-stress corporate world to a more relaxed, toned-down approach to life—even if the corporate world still exists for them from nine to five. In the end, high-powered execs sing alongside ski bums and waitresses, meeting each other on the same tune line and harmonizing their experiences in music.
Any Park City resident can join the Singers, as long as he/she can carry a tune, read music, and has some musical experience.
A broad selection of songs from sacred to secular and from favorites to unusual arrangements keeps the Singers’ repertoire fresh. And while the group usually performs alone, it occasionally pairs with groups like the Glenn Potter Bell Choir and assorted brass or jazz ensembles, as well as guest artists.
This year marks the beginning of John VanWagoner as director, with Lori Hoffer continuing as chair and the considerable talent of Tanya
Taylor as accompanist. For a list of current performances, please consult www.parkcitysingers.com.
Writer Tabitha Thompson is managing editor of Utah Business magazine. She became an official Parkite in 2004 and enjoys freelance writing within view of the slopes. She is currently working on her first pregnancy and her first non-fiction book.
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