New Community Choir Begins Rehearsals
ELKO—A new community choir is coming to Elko: the Ruby Mountain Voices. They will rehearse every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Elko High School Performing Arts Center.
The choir plans to put on a Christmas concert as well as expanding into other holidays in the future, founder Rick Whittington said. Winter events they will attend include the Giving Tree in the Elko Junction shopping center, as well as the Festival of Trees.
Whittington said he came up with the initial idea for the choir, going on to start it in collaboration with Elko theater and music director Cat Phillips.
“She actually wanted to do the same thing,” he said.
“Pianist extraordinaire” Connie Muir also joined the board, as well as Valerie Sargeant, who handles the choir’s legal work, Whittington said.
The choir held a meet-and-greet on October 17, which exceeded expectations, Whittington said.
“It’s been very well-received.”
While the initial goal was for the choir to have around 20 members, “we probably got about 25 or 30. They’re going to show up this Wednesday and we’re going to have to figure out what we’re going to do with that,” he said.
“It’s a community choir, it’s an ecumenical choir, it’s not a Baptist or Lutheran or Latter Day Saints choir. So everybody’s been invited,” Whittington noted.
Musical styles will include holiday songs, popular music and Broadway showtunes. The ability to read music is highly encouraged. Choir and board members will work together to figure out song choices, with board members approving them. Both choir members and board members will pay dues, for the purpose of offsetting expenses such as music and rehearsal space.
As the choir will be a 501(c)(3), running it includes responsibilities like filing articles of incorporation and recording minutes on board meetings, Whittington noted.
“Our members are charged a fee of $50, but that goes into buying the music and all the other operational costs of running a choir,” he said. “People can donate to the choir, and we’ll be soliciting funds through grants and other forms of investment. And we’ll make sure we have enough financial resources to survive.”
“The board that I’m on, they’re the godparents of music in Elko,” Whittington noted. “Valerie Sargeant, for example, has done a lot of our legal work. She’s also a great singer and a great conductor. So it’s a very well-heeled choir.”
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