Long-time director Eleanor Kenitzer invites especially those who have previously sung the Cornish carols, and singers who would like to learn them, to join the choir when practice begins on Sunday, November 2, 6 pm at Grass Valley United Methodist Church, 236 South Church Street, Grass Valley.
“I will retire after this Christmas so I hope you will all come and sing,” Eleanor said.
“So dust off your hats and spiffy up your costumes,” she added, “and prepare to joyfully sing “Sound, Sound” – traditionally the carol which opens each performance.
Grass Valley miner, merchant and lay preacher John Farrell, organized the choir in 1876 and ever since the carols have been sung on the streets of Grass Valley. In the late 19th century the choir performed regularly at the California State Capitol and in churches throughout the region.
In the 1920s Grass Valley’s choir became part of the golden age of radio and by the 1940s the choir was featured in national radio broadcasts across America, on the BBC in Britain and on Armed Forces Radio around the world.
The choir fell mostly silent late in the 20th century, but Eleanor revitalized the group in 1990 by recruiting women to sing the parts previously sung by boy altos. Since then the group has traveled to Cornish communities in the Midwest and repeatedly to Cornwall itself. The group traditionally opens Grass Valley’s annual Cornish Christmas celebrations.
Eleanor said she currently has no successor but hopes someone who appreciates the folk heritage of the carols may emerge.