The Lebanon County Choral Society will launch its spring season with open rehearsals on Monday, February 9, and Monday, February 16, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 22 S. 6th Street, Lebanon. The Youth Chorus, under the direction of Gretchen Patti, will rehearse from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., while the Adult Chorus, under the direction of Sean Hackett, will rehearse from 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
“We’re excited to resume rehearsals again after a fantastic fall season,” said Hackett, who also serves as the artistic director of the society as a whole. “We had almost 80 adult singers, and I hope to add even more for the spring.”
The choral society traditionally performs selections from Handel’s Messiah every five years but missed their 2020 season due to the COVID pandemic. To make up for this, the Adult Chorus is performing the Messiah in its entirety, spread across concerts in December 2025 and May 2026. Singers are invited to join the ensemble for the spring even if they did not perform in the fall. The season will culminate with a May 17 concert held at Annville Church of the Brethren. A chamber orchestra made up of professional musicians from throughout the region will join the Adult Chorus for the Messiah portions of the concert.
“Performing this piece every five years is written into our bylaws, and many of our longstanding members count their membership in terms of how many Messiah seasons they’ve had,” said Hackett. “It’s a way to make sure we never stray far from our original purpose, which is bringing quality choral performances of historically important works to Lebanon County.”
Gretchen Patti will be stepping in as acting Youth Chorus director while Gabrielle Umholtz is on maternity leave. Mrs. Patti has an extensive background in music education, music therapy, and music performance. In addition to performing with the Adult Chorus on May 17, the Youth Chorus will also perform their own concert as part of the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts First Friday Art Walk on May 1 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Adult (high school students and above) and youth (grades 3 through 8) singers are invited to visit the choral society’s website at www.LCCSmusic.org to register for the open rehearsals so that adequate sheet music is available. Questions may be directed to managementLCCS@gmail.com.
