week of 11/26/03
 
 
 

Go tell it on the mountain
Voices in the Laurel travels to Dollywood for Christmas
By Charles Waters

Voices in the Laurel has scored some impressive performances since director Martha Youngwood organized the vocal ensemble in 1996. It has evolved from a 33-member single choir to a three-choir, 80-member ensemble with a resume including stops in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Hawaii, London and Paris. But a date at Dollywood for Christmas came as a complete surprise.

“We had contacted Dolly Parton to autograph an apron for our fall fund raiser, and the Dollywood Foundation took the initiative to contact us. Never in a million years did we think about singing for her. It’s a very nice surprise and we are so excited,” Youngwood said.

The Voices in the Laurel Youth Choir will open for the country/pop music diva at the theme park’s Christmas shows on Dec. 12 and 13. Youngwood and the choir will get to meet with Parton at that time. Youngwood has not personally spoken to Parton as yet, but has been in contact with Dollywood Foundation Director David Dotson. “We sent them a CD, and they asked us for some really upbeat holiday tunes, and they wanted us to include some classical music as well,” Youngwood said. Highlights will include a ‘Yule Be Swinging’ medley incorporating “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Let it Snow,” and selections from Benjamin Britton’s “Ceremony of the Carols.”

Unfortunately, tickets for the Dollywood shows have long since sold out. But area residents will get a chance to hear a preview of that program at Voices in the Laurel’s Holiday Concert on Sunday, Dec. 7, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska.

A 3 p.m. afternoon performance will feature the Children’s, Youth and Bel Canto choirs with harpist Lynne Wells-Meyer. The 6:30 p.m. candlelight concert with the Youth and Bel Canto choirs will feature string, brass and woodwind accompaniment, and will include a portion of the Dollywood repertoire.

Tickets for the Holiday Concert are $10 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under. Tickets are available at Cedar Hill Studio in Waynesville or by calling 828.734.8521. Tickets will also be available at the door. Youngwood noted that this is the first time Voices in the Laurel has offered a second Holiday Concert, as the afternoon show is usually a sell-out.

Between concerts, there will be a soup and salad scholarship supper from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. Proceeds will be used to benefit the choir’s scholarship fund. The suggested donation is $5.

Youngwood teaches at Central Elementary School in Waynesville. She founded Voices in the Laurel after she moved to Haywood County from Lexington, Ky., where she was director of the Lexington Children’s Chorus.

“I brought that group on tour through here, and Anna Watson heard us. When I moved here, she saw me one day in a in grocery store, and said: ‘Can we get a choir started here?’ So we did! We had 33 children in the first year, and we now have 80 choir members enrolled from Jackson, Swain, Buncombe and Haywood counties involved. “

Voices in the Laurel’s name came from Bill Graham, a graphic artist who was on the choir’s founding board of directors. “He said we needed to come with a really good name for this group,” Youngwood explained. “We wanted it to be different and beautiful and something people would remember — something that denotes we are a choir and are from the mountains. So he suggested Voices in the Laurel, and it stuck.”

The not-for-profit organization’s mission is to “provide an opportunity for young singers to develop as musicians through the study, rehearsal and performance of choral literature.”

The choir conducts ticketed concerts twice annually and makes dozens of other private and public appearances each season. A performance tour is scheduled at least every other year.

“I love what I do, “Youngwood says. “I love the sound of children’s voices. I even hired the choir to sing at my wedding five years ago.”

Voices in the Laurel will be conducting auditions for its spring semester on Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Long’s Chapel. To schedule an appointment call 828.926.0568.