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Grover Lula Mae Hill Choraliers
(March 2004)
Habitat For Humanity and opera singer Beverly Vanessa Hill.
Although at first glance it may seem the two would have little in common,
nothing could be farther from the truth.
Hill, who was raised in Milledgeville, says she's supportive of "anyone
that's doing things to elevate the community and people in need." Habitat is
dedicated to providing decent, affordable housing in partnership with those
who lack adequate shelter. Suddenly, the connection seems more credible.
The Macon and Milledgeville chapters of Habit for Humanity are having a
special "Home Sweet Home" fundraiser concert as part of the Cherry Blossom
Festival in Macon. The event will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 22 at the
Grand Opera House. Money from the concert will benefit both Habitat
chapters.
Hill, the principal dramatic soprano with the Magic Circle Opera Repertory
Ensemble in New York, will be the featured artist. Gerald Steichen, a
conductor with the New York City Opera will accompany her on piano. Tickets
are $30, and may be purchased two ways, either by calling the box office at
the Grand Opera House at 478-301-5461 or by visiting a special website
www.thegrand.mercer.edu. Once at the site, click on the "Buy tickets here"
link and look for "Home Sweet Home."
Hill, however, is bringing more than her own operatic talents to the
concert. She's bringing The Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choraliers
with her. The Choraliers, named in honor of her parents, are a concept that
Hill uses to promote her ideas of enriching communities by bringing diverse
groups of people together in song. Just as Habitat builds each house out of
new materials, Hill builds the Choraliers out of local talent found at each
venue.
For the Habitat concert, the Choraliers will consist of about 60 first-
through sixth-graders from the Martha Bowman United Methodist Church in
Macon and children from Flagg Chapel Baptist Church in Milledgeville.
"The Choraliers are an effort not only to reach out in a musical way, but to
cross barriers of communication," Hill said. "The more you travel and get to
know people the more you realize that we're much more alike than we are
different."
Singing together has many benefits, she said.
"They're learning to sing together, they're learning to breathe together,
they're learning to think together. That means you have a rhythm of
togetherness."
Hill has planned the concert for months, blending an eclectic selection of
classic opera and other musical pieces, plus spirituals she learned in her
living room in Milledgeville. She begins the concert with Handel's "My
Redeemer Liveth," a story of the biblical passion, hoping to educate
concertgoers to the fact that the retelling of the passion story did not
begin with Mel Gibson's recent movie. Other selections include works by
Wagner, Verdi and Puccini. The Choraliers will sing "a couple of 'up'
pieces," according to Hill, and then she'll sing the spiritual, a continual
favorite of New Yorkers.
Milledgeville Habitat executive director Harold Tessendorf said within 30
minutes of his first meeting with Hill in Macon last week, "She basically
knocked me over." He wasn't sure what to expect, he said, thinking perhaps
he would be meeting an opera singer with an opera-diva ego to accompany her.
Such was definitely not the case.
"She's an amazing person," Tessendorf said. "She impressed me with her
combination of passion, commitment and dedication. She sees music as the
vehicle to bring things together. Her vocation is obviously not to just go
out and sing opera."
Hill hopes that the connections forged between the children singing, between
the community and Habitat, will continue as a legacy left behind by the
Choraliers.
"We all need to be aware that we all live and breathe the same air. We want
the same things from life - housing, food, family, love, and whatever our
religious preferences are. Once you really start to breathe and work
together, which music allows us to do, so many barriers come down because
you really see the superficiality of it all."
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(March 2004)
World-renowned musicians perform in Habitat for Humanity benefit concert
Dramatic soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill will perform at this year's Cherry
Blossom Festival in the "Home Sweet Home" concert. The diva has exhibited
her extensive repertoire in venues throughout the states, Austria, Italy and
Russia. Ms. Hill, a Milledgeville native, will be accompanied on piano by
Gerald Steichen, conductor at the New York City Opera. The duo will perform
a variety of classical and scared musical numbers along with other
favorites. The Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choraliers and a choir of
local children will also perform as part of the concert.
All proceeds from the "Home Sweet Home" concert will benefit Macon Area
Habitat for Humanity and Milledgeville/Baldwin County Habitat for Humanity.
Both Habitat for Humanity affiliates are dedicated to the mission of
eliminating substandard housing in their communities. Habitat builds houses
primarily with volunteer labor to keep costs low. Then, Habitat sells the
houses to approved families with an interest-free mortgage. A family gives
300 hours of service, helping to build their house and other Habitat houses
as a "down payment." These Habitat affiliates build throughout Baldwin,
Bibb and Jones counties. The average cost of a Habitat house is $43,000,
well below the market rate of a comparable house.
The "Home Sweet Home" concert will be held at the Grand Opera House Monday,
March 22, at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the venue for $30 each.
Each ticket purchased brings a family closer to the dream of homeownership.
For more information on the long-term benefits Habitat for Humanity provides
to families and to the community, or for biographical information on the
performers, contact the Macon Area Habitat for Humanity at 478-784-6800 or
visit www.maconareahabitat.org. The contact details for
Milledgeville/Baldwin Co. Habitat for Humanity are (478)453-9617 or email
habitatforhumanity@alltel.net. Our website address is www.mbchabitat.org
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(April 2005)
Last leg of opera Peace Tour coming May 15
Local singers will participate with soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill
Opera soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill and the Grover and Lula Mae Hill
Memorial Choraliers performed in the First International Arts Festival and
Peace Tour in February. In May, they're coming to Milledgeville to stage the
last concert of the 2005 Peace Tour series.
Hill, the dramatic soprano for the Magic Circle Opera Repertory Ensemble in
New York, is a Milledgeville native who never has forgotten her roots, and
returns frequently to promote music, community and togetherness. Hill is in
town now to promote the May 15 Choraliers' concert, which is set for 3 p.m.
at the new auditorium at Georgia Military College. The event will include
singers from First United Methodist Church, Second Macedonia Baptist Church,
Union Baptist City Church, Green Pasture Baptist Church, and GMC middle
schoolers.
The Choraliers, named in honor of Hill's parents, are a concept that Hill
uses to promote her ideas of enriching communities by bringing diverse
groups of people together in song. Hill builds the Choraliers out of local
talent found at each venue.
Hill's Peace Tour included four different performances in February,
including concerts at the Church of Saint Catherine and Convent Avenue
Baptist Church in Harlem.
"Convent Avenue Baptist Church is a cornerstone church in Harlem, one where
all the politicians go to get elected," Hill said. "It's very well known,
and our concert there was televised." For St. Patrick's Day, Hill sang for
New York governor George Pataki, and was interviewed on Irish radio as well.
At each event Hill spoke about the Peace Tour - and about Milledgeville.
"I was able to talk about the Choraliers, what our mission statement is,
what we're doing, and about our concert on May 15 in Milledgeville," Hill
said. "I've talked to politicians. I've talked to Sen. Edward Kennedy; I've
talked to Congressman John Lewis in Atlanta. People are excited about this."
Wade Elkins is the director of music for First United Methodist Church and
will be the director of the Choraliers in May. Each group of singers has
been given the music and are already practicing, he said, and will get
together shortly for a few rehearsals before the concert.
"I think it's a very honorable thing to teach our children how to work
together," Elkins said, "and you're teaching them that through performing,
through raising money and having a goal in sight, and coming together from
different cultural and racial backgrounds. They learn to put those aside and
just work together as people and create music, which is glorious."
Puerto Rican baritone Rafael LeBron will be the guest artist at the May
concert, and he and Hill will perform a duet from Aida. The Choraliers will
sing two songs, a gospel piece and an Israeli piece in Hebrew.
The concert is more than a concert, however. It's a fundraiser as well. Hill
is looking for support for the Choraliers so they can perform in concert in
2007 at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, which is located on Museum Mile on
Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In 2008, she wants to take them to Europe.
Established in 1995, the Choraliers have been privately funded, which
usually meant that the money came from Hill. With the three Rs - respect,
restraint and responsibility - emphasized among them, Hill sees the
Choraliers not only as a chance for local singers to learn unity and a sense
of belonging to mankind as a whole, but as a chance for local businesses to
support praiseworthy ideals among local youth.
"While the Choraliers have the responsibility of being responsible for their
art.their future.for being entrepreneurs and raising money, they'll also
have the umbrella of knowing that their community supports them," Hill
explained. "They'll be free and able to experience the world in a different
way."
For a box:
There are sponsorship opportunities with the Grover and Lula Mae Memorial
Choraliers that range from $50 and up. Each level of sponsorship has special
benefits. All donations are tax deductible. The May 15 concert is being
supported by the Magic Circle Repertory Ensemble, Inc., a 501 c3
not-for-profit corporation. Checks should be made payable to the Magic
Circle Opera for full tax advantages. Locally, checks may be sent to the
Convention and Visitors Bureau (200 W. Hancock St., Milledgeville, GA
31061). Call the CVB at 478-452-4687 for more information.
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(May 2005)
The halls of the First United Methodist Church were alive with the sound of
music Sunday as practice continued for the upcoming Milledgeville concert
featuring opera soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill and the Grover and Lula Mae
Hill Memorial Choraliers in the First International Arts Festival and Peace
Tour. Hill, the dramatic soprano for the Magic Circle Opera Repertory
Ensemble in New York, is a Milledgeville native. Wade Elkins, music director
at FUMC, is directing the Choraliers in this concert.
The Choraliers, named in honor of Hill's parents, are a concept that Hill
uses to promote her ideas of enriching communities by bringing diverse
groups of people together in song. Hill builds the Choraliers out of local
talent found at each venue. The event will include singers from First United
Methodist Church, Second Macedonia Baptist Church, Union Baptist City
Church, Green Pasture Baptist Church, and Georgia Military College
middle-schoolers.
Puerto Rican baritone Rafael LeBron will be the guest artist at the May 15
concert, and he and Hill will perform a duet from Aida. The Choraliers will
sing two songs, a gospel piece and an Israeli piece in Hebrew.
Tickets are $8 for adults.
For a box:
Who: Beverly Vanessa Hill, Rafael LeBron and the Grover and Lula Mae Hill
Memorial Choraliers
What: First International Arts Festival and Peace Tour
When: May 15, 3 p.m.
Where: The Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts in Georgia Military
College's new academic building
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(May 2005)
Peace tour concert unites voices, hearts in song
Those people who were smart enough to attend last Sunday's First
International Arts Festival and Peace Tour Concert walked away with much
more than they came with. They were given a glimpse of what the future of
Milledgeville can be when our children are set free from the forces that
still divide us, and allowed to exist in a world that honors restraint,
respect and responsibility.
Dramatic opera soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill was joined by Puerto Rican
baritone Rafael LeBron and the Grover and Lula Mae Memorial Choraliers in a
concert in the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts at Georgia Military
College. The Choraliers were made up of children from First United Methodist
Church, Second Macedonia Baptist Church, Union Baptist City Church, Green
Pasture Baptist Church, GMC and the city of Sparta.
"The children are amazing. They were very well behaved, very respectful, and
they worked hard," said Wade Elkins, director of music at First United
Methodist Church and the director of the choraliers for the concert. "They
listened and they responded. Today they just came alive, and that's what is
so rewarding and so wonderful to be a part of."
Hill not only sang several pieces in the concert, she sang the praises for
the children as well.
"The children are dreams. They are the most dedicated, the most disciplined
children," Hill said. Hill took a group of the choraliers to perform on WMAZ
television on Saturday, and said the children gathered in the parking lot at
6:45 a.m. to rehearse. After traveling to Macon, performing, then returning
to Milledgeville, the young singers rehearsed for another hour before Hill
took them to McDonald's for a special treat. And every single one of them,
Hill said, came up to her and thanked her.
"How can we not support these children with every ounce of our being?" Hill
asked. She is seeking community support to take the choraliers to perform in
New York City in 2007 and to Europe in 2008. "This is our future. This is
our peace. This is our community. I am totally optimistic and I totally
believe in Milledgeville."
Haylee Chambers, 10, a choralier from the Methodist Church, is hoping to
travel to Europe with Hill.
"I liked singing mainly because I liked meeting Beverley Vanessa," Chambers
said. "She's very kind and loving. She taught us how to loosen our voices,
and that one person can't do it all and that we all need to work together."
Unity among the children was very apparent as they sat in the audience
awaiting their turn to perform onstage. They were the living example of what
Hill strives to impart with her group that she named in honor of her
parents: restraint, respect and responsibility. There were no boundaries
among them as they sat patiently, nor as they took to the stage, their
voices uniting in song and reaching out to the hearts of the audience.
Dr. Richard Mercier, who provided the piano accompaniment, said that the
event was "very exciting" because it not only touches the musical side of
Milledgeville but also touches "right into the community." The opportunity
for the children to work with international professionals and to see that
there are many opportunities outside their local boundaries made Mercier
feel fortunate to have been asked to participate.
"It opens up their minds to greater possibilities and gets them excited
about something that's really very vital and can change their life for the
better forever," Mercier said. "To see their eyes begin to glow as they
begin to have their moments of singing is really touching."
LeBron commended Hill on her courage in bringing the project to fruition,
and holding on to her lifelong dream.
"It is not easy to be a pioneer, and it is harder sometimes to try to change
mentalities than it is to face the rough winds and seas of uncertainty,"
LeBron said. "I believe her effort is already a success, but the audience is
the determining factor. Music is the universal language. With the
integration of music styles, cultures and ethnicities, maybe we can bring
about a harmonious change in the society of man."
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(July 2005)
Children thankful for choralier experience
Six children from Second Macedonia Baptist Church participated with the
Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choraliers in their recent concert with
Beverley Vanessa Hill. They had something special to say about the
experience.
"I just wanted to say thank you for choosing me to be in your group. I
enjoyed making friends and performing on 13WMAZ. I just wanted to thank Mr.
Wade for helping us understand Hebrew and helping us with the song. I wanted
to thank Mrs. Beverley Hill for performing with us and buying us McDonald's.
I also wanted to thank all of the parents that helped us with the song and
everything else that had to do with the song."
Love, Ajoya McCormick
"What I like about being a Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choralier is
that I get to sing, to be on television, and to meet new people. Most of
all, I got to meet opera soprano Beverley Vanessa Hill and baritone Rafael
LeBron. I enjoyed working with Wade Elkins, Marcel May, Dr. Richard Mercier,
Gloria Davis, Nessie James, my Mom and all of the children. My favorite part
of being a choralier is singing. I forgot to say that we would be traveling,
sharing and learning while we sing.
Thank you to all of the sponsors who helped Ms. Hill's dream come true for
our community."
Brittany Lee-Adams
"What I liked about being a Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choralier was
the chance to play the tambourine and to sing songs. I loved singing the
song Do-Di-Li as well as the song Open the Flood Gates of Heaven. I want to
be an example to other kids. I also want to be famous just like Ms. Beverley
Vanessa Hill and go all over the world. And that is what I like about being
a choralier."
Charneshia Wheatley
"I enjoyed singing with the Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choraliers
this year. I learned how to play the tambourine, and to sing opera. I got to
be on Channel 13WMAZ News. I got to sing with a famous opera singer named
Beverley Vanessa Hill. I had so much F-U-N. I can't wait until we sing
again."
Marquiet James
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(May 2008)
Young singers to perform in New York on Father's Day
Father's Day will be a particularly special occasion for a group of local
children as they will board buses for a trip to New York City. The ten
children are members of the Grover and Lula Mae Hill Memorial Choraliers and
they will be singing at The Church of the Heavenly Rest on Fifth Avenue on
June 15, due to the efforts of Beverley Vanessa Hill. Hill is an
accomplished opera singer residing in New York who has never forgotten her
Baldwin County roots.
In 1995 Hill established the Choraliers, named in honor of her parents. The
group is a concept that Hill uses to promote her ideas of enriching
communities by bringing diverse groups of people together in song. Hill
builds the Choraliers out of local talent found at each venue.
In May 2005 Hill brought together young singers from First United Methodist
Church, Second Macedonia Baptist Church, Union Baptist City Church, Green
Pasture Baptist Church, and Georgia Military College Prep to perform in the
First International Arts Festival and Peace Tour at the Goldstein Center for
the Performing Arts. The ten children traveling to New York next month are
members from that group.
The trip has taken a bit longer to come to fruition than originally planned
because Hill suffered a particularly complicated broken ankle just weeks
after the 2005 concert. She never lost her vision, however, and remained
dedicated to fulfilling the promise she made to the children of a trip to
New York.
During the 2005 concert the Choraliers sang two songs, a gospel piece and an
Israeli piece in Hebrew. This year the children will be joined by the
children's choir of The Church of the Heavenly Rest to present "Amazing
Grace" and "Be Thou My Vision."
During their trip to New York they will visit the Church of the Blessed
Sacrament and the Park Avenue Synagogue.
Hill sees the trip as much more than a chance for budding vocalists to strut
their stuff.
"I am doing this so they can have the experience of diversity and of
thinking outside of the box," Hill said. "Not only will they see different
venues and be able to perform, they will learn the importance of leadership
and teamwork, and of being exposed to different languages and artists of
different backgrounds."
While in New York the children will be hosted to lunch by arts supporter
Ruth Jody. In addition, the children will visit museums, the Central Park
zoo, Ground Zero, NBC, Chinatown, Little Italy (where they will have a pizza
party), and will cruise around the city. |
