The Beginning: A Community Passion Becomes a Choir
In 1978, a group of Hickory, NC, community members approached then high school choral director J. Don Coleman about leading volunteer singers in a performance of Handel’s Messiah at Christmas. Coleman agreed, the ensuing performance led to a desire for further concerts, and the Hickory Choral Society was born. Coleman’s leadership and vision as Artistic Director until his retirement in 2018 resulted in an annual performance of at least three concerts per year, including four performances at Christmas. Since 2018, the Choral Society has continued to thrive under the leadership of Artistic Director Dr. Ryan Luhrs, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at Lenoir-Rhyne University. The chorus currently comprises about 100 members from a wide range of ages, including a few charter members and recent college graduates. It performs a wide range of choral genres, from established multi-movement extended works to music by contemporary composers and of popular genres. The organization is proud to contribute to the future of music and music education in the community by providing annual grants to multiple music educators through the J. Don Coleman Education Fund and by lending music through its I.G. Hamlin and Paulette Lael Music Library.
J. Don Coleman
Conductor Emeritus
Influential Guest Conductors and Collaborations
The Hickory Choral Society has enjoyed learning from an abundance of guest conductors throughout its history. Dr. Lara Hoggard, professor emeritus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, served as guest conductor for a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in 1980. His majestic arrangement of the 16th century processional Personent Hodie has become the traditional opening piece of each year’s Christmas concert. Additional guest conductors have included, among others, Dave Brubeck, Sir David Willcocks, Jonathan Willcocks, Weston Noble, Anton Armstrong, Earl Rivers, Mack Wilberg, Elena Sharkova, Brandon Boyd, Frances Fonza, and Anne Barry. The group has sung with the North Carolina Symphony and with the Western Piedmont Symphony several times each.
Taking the Music Beyond Hickory
The Hickory Choral Society has also taken its music to locations beyond home, including several countries abroad. In June 1997, the group traveled to the United Kingdom and performed with the Portsmouth Choral Union in Portsmouth, England, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London and at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. In 2019, the chorus presented concerts in Austria and Prague. The chorus has also performed at the Piccolo Spoleto festival in Charleston, SC, at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. In addition to these performances, the Hickory Choral Society’s 2003 Christmas concert was presented live by UNC-TV as part of its Winter Festival fundraising event. The event was so popular with audiences that it was rebroadcast in 2004.
A Landmark Commission: Requiem for the Living
One of the proudest moments of the Hickory Choral Society was in commissioning Dan Forrest’s first major work, Requiem for the Living. This piece had its world premiere in Hickory, NC, in March 2013, and its 10th anniversary was celebrated, again in Hickory, in 2023. This popular choral work represents the first time the composer was commissioned to write an extended, multi-movement work for choir and orchestra. According to Forrest, speaking to the chorus at one of its 2023 rehearsals, Requiem for the Living has been performed more than 1,000 times and on every continent except Antarctica and has gained him significant recognition among choral publishers and audiences.
Continuing to Create: Commissions and Premieres
The Hickory Choral Society has commissioned additional works over the years, including Randol Bass’s Magnificat and Te Deum, Dave Brubeck’s Hear the Bells Ring, and Dan Forrest’s Ubi Caritas. Works premiered by the Choral Society include, among others, Curtis Bryant’s Magnificat, Martin Rice’s O Love of Mine, Dave Brubeck’s Hear the Bells Ring, Jonathan Willcocks’s Magnificat; Randol Bass’s Te Deum, Paul D. Weber’s Set Me as Seal Upon Your Heart, and Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living and Ubi Caritas.
Keeping the Music Alive Through Adversity
Although the 2020 pandemic created a monumental challenge for choral groups, the Hickory Choral Society kept the music alive via online presentations of virtual choir performances. One special event, in collaboration with singers from Lenoir-Rhyne University, Catawba Valley Community College, and Catawba County High Schools, was the premiere performance of Karen Marrolli’s “Undivided”, a piece that celebrates the power of the human voice and spirit to overcome adversity in many forms.
