MIDDLEBURY — From the American songbook to spirituals to Broadway to the Beatles, the Maiden Vermont chorus does it all with style. Central Vermont’s popular women’s barbershop chorus brings its golden sound to Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater on Saturday, Sept. 27, with a concert titled “Get Happy!”
The multigenerational chorus is based in the Middlebury area, but attracts singers from as far away as Colchester to the north and Middletown Springs to the south. Under the direction of Lindi Bortney, the group has grown from its inception in 2004 — when a handful of women literally rehearsed in a barbershop — to a professional-grade ensemble of over 40 women.
This year’s guest artist is soprano Mary Bonhag of Northfield, who made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2007. She earned her master’s degree at Dawn Upshaw’s graduate vocal program at Bard College, winning several concerto competitions. She runs Scrag Mountain Music, an innovative concert series with her husband, double bassist and accompanist Evan Premo, who will join her for this event.
The concert will also feature local pianist Cynthia Huard.
“Those of us who have followed Maiden Vermont for the past 10 years have been amazed by the lush sound they make these days. Lindi has molded these singers into a really professional ensemble,” says THT executive director Douglas Anderson. “And their concerts are always a lot of fun.”
Maiden Vermont’s “Get Happy!”will be performed twice at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 27. Tickets are $17/$15 seniors/$10 students, and may be purchased at www.townhalltheater.org, at 802-382-9222, at the THT box office (noon-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday) or at the door.