Fiftieth Anniversary of Inaugural Concert

Today, November 22, 2025, marks the fiftieth anniversary since the first performance of the Rockbridge Chorus.

The concert, as with all performances in the early years, was a joint venture between the Chorus and the Rockbridge Orchestra, which were founded as a single organization as an outgrowth of the Rockbridge Fine Arts Workshop. Gordon Spice was the conductor for the Chorus, and Robert Stewart led the Orchestra.

The major theme of this inaugural concert was the joys and love of music, with songs including “An Ode for Music” by Zoltan Kodaly, “Serenade to Music” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and the very first piece, “Fanfare for a Festival” by Ron Nelson, which includes the lyrics “all praise to music”. Fittingly, the production took place on the feast of St. Cecilia, who is venerated in several Christian traditions as the patroness of musicians.

The program for this concert, along with those for numerous other performances in the past 50 years, is housed at Washington & Lee University’s Special Collections and Archives.

Rockbridge Youth Chorale Celebrates 25 Years

The Rockbridge Youth Chorale is celebrating its 25th season this year!

Founding RYC Director Melanie Griffis in the early 2000s

Founded in 2000 with Melanie Griffis as its first director, the RYC has provided an opportunity for hundreds of children in Rockbridge County, Lexington, and Buena Vista to join together in song over the years. Griffis, now a member of the Rockbridge Choral Society Board of Directors, said “I did it because I wanted my children to sing and I wanted their friends to sing; so, we jumped in.” The RYC offers choral opportunities that they would not otherwise have in their schools, especially as funding for the arts has decreased over time. Initially, Griffis would take the RYC to perform at local schools, but restrictions on such outreach have ended that practice.

Though Griffis did not remain as RYC for more than a couple of years, her leadership set the stage for later directors, most particularly Lacey Lynch, the current and longest-tenured artistic director, now in her 17th year. Lynch, who has formal training in music education and teaches both at local public schools as well as Washington & Lee University, has grown the program to include more children and a greater diversity of repertoire. “There’s cute songs and things like that, but they also sing in multiple languages, multiple genres, and multiple styles,” said Lynch. Affordability for all interested singers has also been a key effort by Lynch, and the Rockbridge Choral Society successfully applied for a Washington & Lee Community Grant for the 2025-2026 anniversary season to offer scholarships for children and families with financial need.

Another component of the RYC instituted by Lynch has been the highly successful Student Intern Program. This program allows college students at W&L, VMI, and Southern Virginia University who are interested in music education gain additional experience, especially in engaging new singers in music performance. Several former interns, including Annie Thomas (W&L 2024) and Caleb Peña (W&L 2021) have gone on to pursue further training in choral music directing, and one of them, Katelyn Roll (SVU 2021), has become the director of the Children’s Choir for grades 1-5!

To kick off the celebrations, the RYC and Children’s Choir will be performing their Fall Concert on November 18 at 7:30 PM. Please see below for additional details.

The Messiah Sing Returns

After over two decades, the Rockbridge Chorus will again host a Community Messiah Sing as part of its ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations. Artistic Director William McCorkle reflected, “While we've talked for years about reviving the event, the spark that worked this time was the occasion of this banner year, and thinking about what we might do to make it special. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring it back.”

This exciting opportunity for any and all interested singers to perform Part I and the “Hallelujah” chorus of George Frideric Handel’s magnificent oratorio will take place on Saturday, November 15 at 3 PM at Lexington Presbyterian Church. Associate Director Scott Williamson and former Rockbridge Chorus Director Gordon Spice will conduct, and McCorkle will accompany on the organ. Solo arias and recitatives will be sung with entire sections, rather by single individuals.

All community members are welcome to attend and participate, and no tickets are required. A limited number of scores will be available for singers to borrow. People who prefer to listen are encouraged to sit in the church balcony, if able, to take in the music and share the joy of the participants.

From Our Associate Director, Scott Williamson

It is hard to believe. The Rockbridge Chorus celebrates season fifty this year and we have a big slate of concerts planned. For the first time in a number of years, we are kicking off the season with a fall concert. On September 20th our new Associate Director, Scott Williamson, will take the baton to conduct the Rockbridge Chorus in an eclectic collection from the American Song Book, Broadway, Folk, and Rock. From Stephen Sondheim to Queen, the chorus is preparing a fun debut concert for the 2025/2026 season. Scott has a few thoughts on some of the works we will be presenting:

“I love the versions of the Gershwin and Porter standards we're doing. The arrangers have turned the choir into a vocal band. The sopranos imitate trumpets while the baritones mirror the plucked strings of a double bass. The altos and tenors enrich the harmonies with voices echoing clarinets and saxophones. I have loved the music of Stephen Sondheim ever since I sang the choral arrangement of ‘Comedy Tonight,’ with which we open our program. The concert is bookended by another tuneful and upbeat Sondheim arrangement. ‘Our Time’ uses the full range of the chorus with 6-part harmonies to reflect the sense of community which this song embodies.”

As always, tickets will be available through our website and at the door. Please join us for this fun concert!

Welcome Aboard, Scott Williamson!

As our 50th anniversary season begins, the Rockbridge Choral Society is excited to welcome Scott Williamson, our new Associate Director for the Rockbridge Chorus and Chamber Singers.

From musical theatre and church music to opera and the classics, Dr. Williamson’s repertoire spans multiple musical disciplines. He is a Fulbright Scholar with a 2019 season spent on the faculty of West University in Romania, where he worked in Music and Theatre, International Relations, and at the Center for Trans-Disciplinary Research.

Scott’s performance career includes works of western music, including more than 100 premieres. As an internationally recognized tenor, the Times of London called his debut at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre “brilliant”. His performance work has been praised in the New York Times, Opera News, and The Washington Post.

Scott’s love of opera is no secret. Our audience will know him as a frequent soloist with our ensembles over the past two decades, and most recently as the judge in the Rockbridge Chorus’s spring/2025 performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. As General and Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke from 2010 - 2018, he created their Apprentice Artist Program and co-produced notable company premiers including the Flying Dutchman and South Pacific.

For many years, Williamson was the Music Director of Temple Emanuel in Roanoke, where he has also served on the board of the historic Grandin Theatre and as a guest curator in music and a Museum Studies Director at the Taubman Museum of Art. As a teacher and conductor, he has served on the faculties of Goshen College, Hollins University and Virginia Tech. He began his career at Washington and Lee University in 1996, where as visiting Assistant Professor of Music, he continues to teach, perform and conduct. Through it all, he is in consistent demand as a guest artist. As if that were not enough, his poetry has appeared in the Atlanta Review and the Tupelo Quarterly.

The singers are already having a fun year with Scott whose enthusiasm for the music he has chosen for them shows up at every rehearsal. Please join us on September 20 as we welcome Scott to the podium for our 50th anniversary season opener, Our Time - Golden Pops.

Tis The Season

            Even though Starbucks has already declared that pumpkin spice latte season has started, we are not talking about the holiday season.  We are talking about campaign season and presidential campaign songs have an interesting history.  Campaign music goes all the way back to George Washington’s time.  In those days, candidates adapted popular songs of the day with lyrics specific to the candidate.  Think about songs like “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” which some historians believe helped William Harrison into office in the election of 1840.  Original songs written for a candidate were also common for a while.  Connie Francis sang “Nixon’s the One” in 1968, but the song didn’t catch on.  It didn’t matter.  Nixon was elected in spite of his lukewarm campaign song.

            It was really Ronald Regan who started the modern-day practice of walk-on, walk-off music using popular songs of the day.  He chose Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” for his campaign music.  Here are the candidates and the songs they used during their campaigns. How did you do?

“Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac                                                        Bill Clinton

“Crazy” by Patsy Cline                                                                       Ross Perot

“Signed Sealed Delivered” by Stevie Wonder                              Barack Obama

“Take A Chance on Me” by ABBA                                                    John McCain

“American Girl” by Tom Petty                                                           Hilary Clinton

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones         Donald Trump

“Freedom” by Beyonce                                                                    Kamala Harris

            Music critic for Variety, Chris Willman, points out that most songs chosen recently for campaign music come out of the rock-and-roll genre.  Most of these performers identify as Democrats, so the candidates who typically get in the most trouble for appropriating campaign songs without permission are Republicans.  At least they are the ones who get the most cease-and-desist letters. 

Happy Election Season!  You’ll probably need that pumpkin spice latte.

On the 2024/2025 Season From the Artistic Director

ROCKBRIDGE CHORUS 2024-2025 SEASON 

OUR FIRST REHEARSAL: 

Monday, September 23 - 7:30 p.m.  

Lexington Presbyterian Church sanctuary 

NAME TAGS 

For returning singers: If you have your name tag from last year, please bring it.   

Everyone: We will have temporary (stick-on) tags for all.  Robin can take requests for new tags. 

ARRIVAL 

It will be helpful if many of you can come a few minutes early to expedite registration/logistics. 

As you are able, please enter through the principal front door on columned porch  (there is accessible entry without stairs through the Main St. entrance up the street from the sanctuary) 

REGISTRATION 

When you enter, you will be directed to your section leaders, at whose stations you will register (providing/updating/confirming contact information) and pay season dues of  $75.  I remind you that there is scholarship support available.   

SECTION LEADERS 

SOPRANO – Robin Matthews               desmid.lady@gmail.com 

ALTO – Poppy Orendorf                         prorendorf@gmail.com 

TENOR/BASS – Jim White                    white.james.l@gmail.com 

MUSIC 

After registering you can proceed to the music table (near the pulpit) where you will sign out your music packets from Anne Sauder and Liz Schmidt.   

NOTE: Music is formatted with 3-hole punch for [black] loose-leaf notebook.  If possible, bring  your notebook. You can install your music and recycle the packet envelope back to us. 

SEATING FOR REHEARSAL 

For the first rehearsal(s) we will again be seated in the front pews on either side of the center aisle.  As circumstances allow, we may progress to hold some rehearsals up in the choir area around the organ (where many of you worked in final preparations for the September 15 performance), and where we can better hear each other. 

HEALTH 

There are colds and viruses going around these days.  Use your own best judgment about attendance.  Masks may be a good idea.   

IF YOU WILL MISS THE SEPTEMBER 23 REHEARSAL… 

… please NOTIFY your section leader (e-mail addresses above). 

FELLOWSHIP 

To find more opportunity for fellowship and getting acquainted, your board is already planning some post-rehearsal socializing moments in the coming weeks. 

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE 

We will rehearse every Monday through December 2.  Additional rehearsals that week before the December 7 performance should be confirmed before the end of September. 

2024-2025 SEASON PERFORMANCE CALENDAR 

All concerts at Lexington Presbyterian 

Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. 

Rockbridge Chorus 

with brief appearance by Rockbridge Youth Chorale 

HOLIDAY CONCERT 

Audience caroling at 7:15 

Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. 

Rockbridge Chamber SIngers 

MUSIC OF HEINRICH SCHŰTZ 

Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. 

Rockbridge Chorus 

AN EVENING OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN 

The Rockbridge Chamber Singers Are Back!

Since 2020, the Rockbridge Chamber Singers have been side-lined by Covid-19.  The group’s comeback concert, planned for February, 2022,  had to be cancelled, again due to concerns over rehearsing and performing during an up-swing in Covid infections in the local area.  This season, Chamber Singers have finally returned to full numbers and began rehearsing in late December for their concert on Sunday afternoon, February 12, 2023!  We are pleased to bring to our audience a performance of two very special choral works – George Frideric Handels’s Dixit Dominus and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todes Banden.

            Bach’s Cantata No. 4 is Bach’s first cantata for Easter, and is likely his only extant original composition for the first day of the Easter feast.  It is also his earliest surviving chorale cantata and was related to his application for a post at a Lutheran church at Muhlhausen, Germany.  John Eliot Gardiner described it as Bach’s “first known attempt at painting narrative in music”.  The source was Martin Luther’s hymn of the same title, which is the main hymn for Easter in the Lutheran church.  Listen.

            Handel’s Dixit Dominus is a setting of the text of Psalm 110 which begins with the words “The Lord Said”.  The work, written in the baroque style of the period and scored for five vocal soloists, five-part chorus, strings and continuo, was completed in April 1707 while Handel was living in Italy and contains the composer’s earliest surviving autograph.  It is thought that the work was first performed on July 16, 1707 in the Church of Santa Maria in Montessanto.  Listen

            The Rockbridge Chamber Singers are excited to be joined by chamber orchestra and soloists to present these two works just ahead of Lent and the Easter season.  Christine Fairfield, soprano, and Scot Williamson, tenor, will again be our soloists. The Chamber Singers will also welcome singers from Southern Virginia University among their ranks. Please join them on Sunday afternoon, February 12 at 3 PM at the Lexington Presbyterian Church for Bach and Handel!

On-Line Tickets Available Now for Rockbridge Chamber Singers February, 2023 Concert

The Rockbridge Chamber Singers, under the direction of William McCorkle, are rehearsing now to be ready to present their first concert since COVID-19 sidelined them in late 2020! The Chamber Singers are pleased to bring you the music of Handel and Bach on Sunday, February 12 at 3 PM in the sanctuary of the Lexington Presbyterian Church. Tickets ($12.50) are available in advance on-line and will also be available at the door.($15). We are also pleased to be able to offer tickets in a family plan - $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Join us for a mid-winter afternoon of beautiful music!

Rockbridge Chorus Returns to Live Performance - Holiday Concert 2021

The Rockbridge Choral Society is pleased to announce the return of the Rockbridge Chorus to live performance with their Holiday Concert on Saturday December 4 at 7:30 PM at the Lexington Presbyterian Church in downtown Lexington.

Tickets are available on-line. Go to our website www.rcs.org and click on any ticket link or go to www.eventbrite.com and search Rockbridge Chorus, or use the link below to purchase tickets.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-rockbridge-chorus-holiday-concert-2021-tickets-206911817817?utm-campaign=social%2Cemail&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=strongmail&utm-term=listing

Due to Covid-19 protocols at our venue, all attendees must wear a face mask. Seating is limited to 350 to allow for physical distancing if attendees so desire.

Admission is free for children age 6 and under.

Audience caroling begins at 7:15 PM

Please join us as we return to live performance! Here is a sample of one of the works you will hear.

Happy Holidays! We hope to see you there!

Rehearsals Begin!

Our Artistic Director is excited to announce that rehearsals for the 2021/2022 season will begin on Monday, September 27, 2021 at Lexington Presbyterian Church in the sanctuary. Singers, please plan to come between 7 and 7:30 PM so that we will have time to check your contact information and your proof of vaccination against the Covid-19 virus. Prepared music packets will be available for pick-up once check-in is complete.

Covid Protocols for Rehearsals

Vaccination - Vaccination against Covid-19 is required and singers must bring proof of vaccination to the first rehearsal in order to enter the building. If you will miss the first rehearsal, please bring proof of vaccination to the first rehearsal you do attend. If you don’t have the card issued to you at your vaccination appointment and you were vaccinated in Virginia, you may obtain proof by going to https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/prince-william/lost-your-covid-19-vaccination-card/.

Masks and Physical Distancing - Masks must be worn at all times while in the building. Some seats in the rehearsal space will be kept vacant to promote physical distancing. The Lexington Presbyterian Church has a newly installed ventilation system to improve air exchange within the sanctuary.

LET'S SING!

RCS artistic director, William McCorkle, in consult with our board president, Margaret Howard, has a tentative rehearsal start date for our December 2021 Holiday Concert! The board will meet in early August. With input from Mr. McCorkle and pending CDC recommendations, we anticipate that the board will approve the resumption of rehearsals for the Rockbridge Chorus beginning on September 27, 2021. The Lexington Presbyterian Church on S. Main St in downtown Lexington, home to our usual rehearsal venues, has graciously invited us back as they and we start to open up after the long Covid-19 hiatus. We are excited to get back to singing. Our Holiday Concert is scheduled for December 4, 2021. Please check back on our website for updates and Covid-19 guidelines. And, yes, we are happy!

Meet the New RYC Interns

Top row from left: Interns Abby Hanson, Caleb Pena, Chris Vasquez, Haley Allen

Bottom row from left :Katelyn Roll, Interim Assistant Director and Nat Ledesma, Intern

The Rockbridge Youth Chorale has begun virtual and limited in-person rehearsals out of doors for the 2020/2021 season.  As with everything else, this season will be different.  Director Lacey Lynch has developed a plan to keep our young singers singing, collaborating, and learning in spite of the challenges of a global pandemic!  To assist her in her endeavors this season, the RYC welcomes new interim assistant director, Katelyn Roll, returning intern Caleb Pena, and new student interns Nat Ledesma, Abby Hansen, Hayley Allen, and Chris Vasquez.  Caleb, Nat, and Hayley are all students heavily involved with music and various singing groups at Washington and Lee University.  Abby and Chris are students with similar interests and musical involvement at Southern Virginia University. 

            Katelyn Roll is a music education major at Southern Virginia University and says “I’m so excited to begin working with the Children’s Choir. It is my dream job!!! Children inspire me and teach me so much. I can’t wait to learn and grow alongside these awesome kids."  All these young adults are excited to gain experience working with our Youth Choir and Children’s Choir members and we are excited to have them on board.  Check out the depth of experience we are able to draw upon with these great young musicians and catch up on all the RYC news. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2697312320372074&id=113471995422799

Rehearsals and Our Choruses for the 2020/2021 Season

It’s September. Ordinarily we would be meeting at 7:30 on Monday evenings to rehearse for our holiday concert. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, rehearsals and concerts for the Rockbridge Chorus have been suspended according to guidance for group singing activities issued by the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC. This decision by our board of directors and our artistic director was not easy, and while we are all sad and miss singing together and for our audiences, this was the prudent thing to do to protect our singers and the community. In a chorus of 70 plus members, the space to adequately physical distance is just simply not available to us. To keep up with developments please subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, Alla Breve On-Line and check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=rockbridge%20choral%20society%20-%20rockbridge%20chorus

On the upside, the Rockbridge Youth Choruses are getting together to rehearse outside, weather permitting. Virtual rehearsals began on August 25. via Zoom so that the singers could get familiar with the music they would be learning for the fall semester. In addition to virtual rehearsals outdoor rehearsals are planned biweekly in September and October. These in-person rehearsals pull together the music the kids have been learning virtually. At the end of each semester the youth choruses will record their program and share it via a Zoom watch party. We are grateful to our youth artistic director, Lacey Lynch, and her cadre of technically savvy interns for making it possible to bring the youth from our community together to sing and learn about music in spite of the pandemic. Keep up with the Rockbridge Youth Chorale happenings here

Until we are all able to be together again in person, we hope you will remember us in your annual charitable giving. It’s easy to donate by going to our website and hitting the donate button. We welcome all support and thank you for keeping us singing!

Music in the Time of Corona Virus

Undaunted (mostly) by our current state of musical affairs, our artistic director, William McCorkle, can be found conducting virtual lessons with his piano students and playing for virtual church services at the Lexington Presbyterian Church.  This church is our principle rehearsal location and performance venue in normal times and we are grateful for all they do for the RCS.   Their youth pastor, Kelly-Ann Rayle, recently shared this short video from the church’s YouTube channel of an organ interlude with Bill.  We thought you’d enjoy it too.  We’d love to see more of these Bill!

RCS Board of Directors News

Lori Parker, director of our youngest youth choirs, is leaving us.  Lori has done a superb job with our youngest singers.  We will miss her expertise and always smiling face.  Lori will still be in the area and concentrating on other work, so if you see her around, please thank her for her work and her service to the musical development of these talented kids.  Thank you, thank you Lori for all you have given us!

              The RCS Board of Directors has voted to approve some new additions to the Board and a new slate of officers for the 2020/2022 term.  We’d like to welcome new board members Woody McDonald, Margaret Howard, Melanie Griffis-Hooper, Claibourne Edwards, Peg Leinbach, Taylor Walle, and Terry Southerington.   The Board’s new president beginning July 1, 2020 will be Margaret Howard.  Larry Evans will continue as treasurer, and David Biddle will take over as secretary from departing board member Pat Tichenor.  In addition to Pat, we would like to thank Jane Birzenieks, Anne Hansen, Melissa Holland, Deb Price, and Merrily Taylor for their service on the board as well.  Their terms will end on July 1. 

            Thanks to the tireless work of David Biddle and his bylaws committee members Larry Evans, Anne Hansen, Melissa Holland and Deb Price we have completed the new RCS bylaws and the board approved those at their May meeting.  This completes our legal transition from the Friends of the Rockbridge Choral Society to the Rockbridge Choral Society.  Singers, donors and supporters may request a copy of the bylaws by sending an email to admin@rcs.org. 

Rockbridge Youth Chorale and High School Honor Choir

Two of our Rockbridge Youth Chorale singers, Joe Harrison and Caroline Lauck,  recently auditioned and qualified for the Southern Division American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) High School Honor Choir event which took place March 11-14 in Mobile, Alabama.  Unfortunately, the session had to be cut short by, you guessed it, corona virus.  Nevertheless, the closing concert went forward on shortened rehearsal time.  Joe is a senior at Rockbridge County High School and this was not his first time at Honor Choir.  Here are some of his observations. 

            "It is always an interesting experience to work with different conductors with a unique style and personalities. We saw our two conductors deal with a stressful and unexpected situation - Covid-19, which was interesting to observe. Unfortunately, pieces needed to be cut for the performance, due to the time factor, and my favorite piece from the program, Ballad to the Moon, was one of the cut pieces. While it is not a technically challenging piece, the amount of time it would take to make those longer notes shimmer and the melodies flow was too much. Musically, the most interesting part for me was the metronome. They treated us like an orchestra first and then added musicality on top of that. I don't agree with the approach, but it was interesting regardless.”

            “One thing that always gets me at these honor choirs is all the basses who have an insane range. Being a bass myself, I get a twinge jealous when I hear the person next to me singing a low C louder than me. The person to the right of me had been to thirteen ACDA events and five all-state honor choirs. Part of the wonderful experience of being in a mass honor choir is you get to meet all sorts of people.  It is always a treat to go to these wonderful events!”

            We are grateful to our principle youth chorale director and ACDA member, Lacey Lynch, for recruiting these talented young people and for bringing them to a musical place where they can successfully audition for such a prestigious event.  Auditions are never for the faint of heart, and they are highly competitive.  We are really proud of Joe and Caroline!  Your donations help us achieve this support for the young singers of our community.  If you regularly attend our RYC concerts, you know how good these kids are.  Thanks for all you do to help the RCS achieve its mission goals which include the development of choral music among our community youth!

Joe Harrison

Caroline Lauck in Mobile

Singing in the Time of Corona Virus

In 2020, for the first time in decades, there will be no spring concerts by the Rockbridge Chorus and Youth Chorale.   We realize that this is one loss among many in this extraordinary time, but nonetheless our singers and artistic directors, who have worked so hard preparing, are sad to see the concerts postponed.  Our planned spring concerts WILL go on when this is over, regardless of the season, so stay tuned for updates.   The health and safety of our community and of those with whom we come in contact outweighs all other considerations, even performing and hearing beautiful music.   Thankfully, we live in an age of remarkable technology.  Music of all kinds is accessible to us in a variety of virtual ways (pointers to some of them often appear in our online newsletter, Alla-Breve, and on the RCS Facebook page).  

            In the meantime, as a Friend of the RCS you are well aware our choruses are funded and staffed largely by volunteers, donations, and ticket sales.   Our fundraising reminders usually go out in close proximity to our concerts with the very sensible notion that, having been swept away by a performance, you will be even more disposed to be generous.   The spring concert itself was expected to bring in $6,000 in ticket sales.   But this year, there will be no concert, so we have to rely on your memory of our work and on your generosity to raise the money we’ll need to function next year.    Please remember your spring donation, and if you can, be a little extra generous.  You might, for example, give or add the amount you would have spent on a spring concert ticket(s).  The Rockbridge Choral Society will be grateful, but more importantly, you’ll help to insure wonderful choral music in our area for another year and beyond.

            Donation is easy and you may contribute as little as $5.  Donate on our website, www.rcs.org, by clicking on the DONATE button, or you may donate by texting the keyword SINGON to 1-844-844-6844.  You will receive a reply text with a link to donate.  And as always, you may send your contribution via check to The Rockbridge Choral Society, PO Box 965, Lexington, VA  24450.

            Stay safe, stay healthy, and rejoice in the beauties of spring and in the music of nature around us.   We’ll see you on the other side.

O Say Can You See...

Rick Richter (back row second from left), member of our bass section, is also a basketball fan, more specifically a fan of the Washington and Lee women’s basketball team.  Rick recruited a group of Rockbridge Chorus singers to sing the national anthem at the team’s last home game with Eastern Mennonite on 2/11/2020.  Congrats to the W&L ladies who won 80-60 and thanks to Rick for this community outreach opportunity!  Who knows?  May lead to more such gigs!

"A Reputable Youngster"

Jazz journalist, James Karst, stumbled on an 8 second film clip on the Getty Images website and instantly knew the newsboy smiling at the camera in the footage could be Louis Armstrong.  In 1915 Louis Armstrong was a newsboy in New Orleans.  He would have been 13 or 14 years old and in need of a job since his recent release from a boys’ reformatory where he had been sent for shooting off a pistol in the air and where he learned to play trumpet. Since he was just starting on his musical career, playing a few local gigs, he likely would not have considered himself a musician.  His occupation was newsboy.       

In those days there weren’t many black newsboys in New Orleans. This video was made 6 blocks from the corner of Poydras and Baronne streets where Armstrong was known to sell newspapers. In the short clip of a crowded sidewalk, a newsboy crosses the camera field, turns to smile and then moves on .That smile, the location, and the date so convinced Karst that this was young Armstrong that he reached out to Dr. Kurt Luther, a professor at Virginia Tech known for his work identifying people in Civil War-era photographs. Luther compared the facial features of the boy in the video to those seen in the earliest known images of Armstrong. Karst accessed census records to verify the small number of black newsboys on the New Orleans records at the time the film was made and where they lived and sold newspapers. If Karst's theory is correct, the clip from 1915 shows Armstrong at a turning point in his early life, years before he became a jazz legend. There is that famous smile. You be the judge.

Does this 1915 stock footage represent Louis Armstrong's film debut?

The young Louis Armstrong