The Oberlin Choristers, of Northeast Ohio Children’s Choirs, are back from a six-year break with a new choir room in the New Union Center for the Arts in Oberlin.
The Choristers are a non-profit organization that provides choral music education and performance opportunities to youth and adults in the community across Northeast Ohio.
The art center is located at 39 S. Main St.
The new choir room officially opened to the public on Sept. 6.
The event brought out many volunteers, board members, music conductors, participants and members of the public.
“We’re really, really excited,” said Charlotte Beers Plank, president of Oberlin Choristers Board of Directors.
The choristers “made the very difficult decision to close in 2019” due to a lack of participation, said Beers Plank.
They are now re-emerging as a “bigger and better organization,” she also said.
A “very generous” anonymous donation was given to the choristers to bring it back to life recently, making the re-opening possible.
The money from the donation was used in part to completely renovate the choir room, located on the upper floor of the arts center in the downtown area of Oberlin.
The renovations included painting the room, replacing the carpet, construction of a storage room and lining the upper walls with posters of the Choristers’ past concert flyers.
The rest of the money will go toward “growing the program immensely,” Beers Plank said.
Currently, there are four age groups for youth, beginning with kindergarten through the twelfth grade.
The organizations locations include not only Oberlin, but also the Avon United Methodist Church, in Avon, and Lake Ridge Academy, in North Ridgeville.
“We’re building up again,” said Beers Plank.
Sue Simonson, Choristers board member, also attended the event.
Simonson was involved with the organization from its inception in 1990 until 2011, she said.
One of the parents of a former Chorister, Nusha Martynuk, also stopped in to see the new choir room.
Martynuk and her daughter Renata McAdams enjoyed their time with the Choristers before it closed down, Martynuk said.
“It’s a wonderful organization,” she added.
To donate, register or learn more about the organization, visit ochorister.org or email [email protected].
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