Wednesday
May 8, 2024 
Susan McDonnell has a dual role within the Bucks County Choral Society.
A trained engineer and a pianist, she is responsible for handling the challenges and administrative practicalities such an organization must face. She’s been with the society for basically half of its lifetime.
Plus she sings. An alto, she has been a choir member for 25 years, rehearsing once a week during the season and loving every minute of it. She is passionate about the reality and talent of people from all walks of life coming together to make music.
Busy with her duties as president she also would be the first to tell you of the powerful emotional impact music wields. She recalls the first piece she learned under the direction of the late Elma Heckler, who was then artistic director. “It was the Brahms Requiem,” she said.
She sang it again under the direction of Dr. Thomas Lloyd, current artistic director. “He educated us about it. He brought a different meaning to it. It’s traditionally sung for the dead but it’s about hope for those who remain,” she said.” It was something that held special meaning for me at the time.”
McDonnell is excited to be among those voices that will ring out in celebration of the choral society’s 50th anniversary season.
For the season’s opening concert, “Revelations,” the Bucks singers will join voices with the 147-year-old Reading Choral Society on Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Doylestown.
A range of American composers’ works will be heard throughout this season, according to Lloyd, who has been artistic director of the 100-voice Bucks choral group for 23 seasons.
Graham Bier, Reading’s music director, will share the conducting with Lloyd for this first, All-American program, with Lloyd conducting Reena Esmail's I Rise: Women in Song and Randall Thompson's Alleluia, and Bier conducting Dominick Argento's The Revelation of St. John the Divine.
“Collaborations with leading soloists, choirs and orchestras across the region are one of our trademarks,” said Lloyd.
“We like to call ourselves ‘a community of voices,’ because we not only love singing challenging and inspiring music together at a high level but we are closely connected to each other and our community. These strong bonds have sustained us over the years even through the uncertainties of the pandemic,” he said.
McDonnell, who is beginning her second season as society president, is especially looking forward to this season after the restrictions of the pandemic.
“We did follow all the COVID protocols and we had to adapt,” she said. “One way we did this was to make videos of performances and make them available online. They reached thousands of viewers and WHYY even ran one on Christmas Eve.
“The upcoming season is an exciting opportunity for our singers, audience and supporters to come together in celebration of our 50th season,” she said.
McDonnell said combining the two groups would allow tenors and basses from both to join in singing the Argento piece while sopranos and altos from both will sing the Esmail composition.
The Bucks society’s annual Christmas Concert is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. Both performances will take place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and feature a revival of Richard Wargo’s Christmas cantata, “Voices in the Mist.” The piece was first commissioned by the society in 1988, by the late Elma Heckler, Lloyd said.
The crowning performance of the society’s golden anniversary schedule will be a performance of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” featuring baritone Stephen Powell in the title role. Powell is a multi-Grammy-nominated singer.
The event will take place March 26 at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The choral society will be joined by the Bucks County Community College Concert Choir, directed by Rochelle Reed; the Princeton Girlchoir, Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins; and the professional orchestra, Symphony in C. Soprano Eva Rae Martinez, who won the choral society’s Voices of the Future contest in 2019, will be one of three soloists.
“Life Begins at 50,” the final performance of the season, is scheduled for June 4 at 4 p.m. at Delaware Valley University. It will include a variety of musical pieces from 50 years of the choir’s repertoire plus a newly commissioned work by John Conahan. Cordus Mundi, the men’s a cappella choir, will make a guest appearance.
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