The Wilton Singers love singing any time of the year and are busy rehearsing for their upcoming annual holiday concert, “’Tis the Season – A Holiday Feast,” to be held Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 at The WEPCO Complex at 48 New Canaan Rd.. Always a community favorite, tickets for those performances already sold out in record time.
GOOD news, though–there’s actually still an opportunity to see them perform.
For the first time ever, the Wilton Singers will perform a Sunday afternoon concert featuring selected highlights from the holiday concert, plus a rousing “sing-a-long,” of holiday favorites and a visit from Santa! This one-hour, family-friendly event will be held on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church Sanctuary. Tickets, which will be available at the door, are $5 for children and $10 for adults, with a maximum of $20 per family. It promises to be a fun and joyful afternoon of song.
The Wilton Singers is an auditioned community chorus whose members truly share the joy of singing and fellowship. It began as a kernel of an idea by two couples, Ed and Jan McEwan (WHS Madrigal parents) and Al and Jan Galletly.
“We were very much inspired by a choral concert in December 1982 that featured a reunion gathering of the Wilton High School Madrigal Singers. We thought it would be fun to have a similar choral group for adults. We could have fun singing, we could raise some scholarship money to award to a graduating WHS Madrigal, and it would keep us off the streets,” said Galletly.
So the group was formed. They held their first annual fundraiser on Mother’s Day weekend in 1986, dubbing it “The Elizabethan Feast.” It was a fully-staged pageant, complete with a concert of beautiful Madrigal songs, a Boar’s Head, men in tights and many hot layers of velvet and satin period costuming. A huge vat of home-made Wassail was tucked away in the front closet, the hall was draped in medieval banners and a single knight in shining armor watched over as ‘Queen Elizabeth’ held court. The hilarious ‘Flower Wench’ sold roses and ‘The Monk’ wandered thru the crowd, selling Dispensations. A sumptuous four-course meal was served as bands of singers serenaded table-side, culminating with “The Flaming Pudding” and a joint song by the Wilton Singers and the WHS Madrigals on stage. Attendees often hosted pre-concert parties at their homes and came to the feast in full costume, pointy hats and all! It was a wild and truly unique community-wide event.
Now, three decades later, the Wilton Singers are still singing their hearts out. Numbering at about 40 members, they come from a variety of professional and musical backgrounds, span more than 50 years in age, and reside in ten neighboring towns in addition to Wilton. The group performs two major concerts each year: a spring cabaret held in May, and a holiday feast in December, where they share the stage with The Wilton High School Madrigal Singers.
Charitably, they have also performed many benefits for local community organizations, including A Better Chance of Wilton, Meadowridge, the CT Composers Association, Ogden House, UNICEF, AFS, the Wilton Library, the Nature Conservancy and the Wilton Playshop. The Wilton Singers have performed with many well-known muscians including Dave Brubeck, the Brubeck Brothers, CT’s official troubadour Tom Callinan, TV star David Canary and vibraphonist Arthur Lipner.
This season the group welcomes a new director, Daniel Shaw, an accomplished conductor, composer and music teacher, as well as a new accompanist, Thomas Buckley. Alison Conroy, a former WHS Madrigal who has taken the reins as president, says it’s a close-knit organization.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to lead this wonderful group of great musicians and friends. They have become like family,” she says.
The group has also stayed true to its original mission. To date, the Wilton Singers has awarded more than $60,000 in scholarships to graduating Wilton High School Choral students. Concert proceeds help the group continue to carry out that effort, so organizers encourage Wilton residents of all ages to join the Singers for an afternoon of song and festivities.
For more information on the Sunday, Dec. 7 family sing-along, or to join the Wilton Singer’s mailing list, visit their website.