'AROUND TOWN
A Song
In Their
Hearts
Members of the Bel Canto Choral Society
have a real love of vocal music
Denise Ogden directs.
DONNA RAPHAEL
Special to The Jewish News
0
n a warm Monday even-
ing in June, the halls of
Southfield-Lathrup
High School are alive
with the sound of
music. The 35 members of the Bel
Canto Choral Society are rehearsing.
Accompanist Rochelle Barr plays
the chords, as musical director Denise
Ogden leads the women's voices up
and down the musical scales. Her
body and hands moving gracefully
with the music, Ogden almost dances
as she guides the singers in harmony.
The women standing in three
lines form an arc around the director.
When their vocal exercises are com-
pleted, they move on to a work by
George Gershwin in preparation for
an upcoming performance.
The women of the Bel Canto
Society come from a wide range of
professional backgrounds — law,
teaching, social work, marketing.
Their ages range from the 20s to the
60s. Jewish and non-Jewish, they
come together for the sheer joy of
making music.
Members say the group is an
outlet for their creative musical
expression.
Bel Canto is an Italian phrase
meaning "beautiful song." For 40
years, the Bel Canto Choral Society
has been bringing beautiful songs to
audiences from Flint to Cleveland.
Specializing in Yiddish and
Bel Canto performed recently at Beth Shalom.
Hebrew songs, the ensemble has
become a mainstay in the Detroit
Jewish community, playing hundreds
of concerts at synagogues, temples,
organizations, nursing homes and the
Jewish Home for Aged.
Last spring, the group was the on-
ly choir invited to perform at a pro-
gram sponsored by Temple Beth El to
celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
State of Israel.
Now the group is achieving
recognition beyond the Jewish com-
munity. Its Chanukah concert last
year at the downtown branch of the
Detroit Public Library was so well
received the group was invited to per-
form again last spring and already
has a concert date at the library for
this December.
"It was a wonderful, heart-
warming performance," says Leonard
Kniffel, assistant to the coordinator
of library branch services. "Their pro-
gram encourages a sense of unity and
desire for world peace. It was inspir-
ing to listen to."
Dedication is the glue that has
kept the group together through the
years. "We have had a nucleus of peo-
ple dedicated enough to carry it
through or else we wouldn't have
lasted this long," says Freda
Mendelson, of Southfield, a member
since 1972.
Enthusiasm and pride are
hallmarks of the women who make up
the Bel Canto choir.
"We have increased the degree of
difficulty of the works we perform as
we have become more discerning
through the years," says Mendelson.
Barbara Cash, of Oak Park, a
member for more than 30 years says:
"There is a certain degree of
challenge in the Bel Canto Choir. If
we are not the major leagues, we cer-
tainly are good semi-pros."
Through the years, the chorale
has built a solid reputation. "This has
always been an all-women's group
singing a singular repertoire, in-
cluding Yiddish and Hebrew
material, along with arrangements of
popular and classical numbers," says
Cash.
Bel Canto has performed for
countless organizations in the Jewish
community. "It provides a good ser-
vice to the community and is always
on tap to groups who are looking for
good entertainment," says Daniel
Braude, of Farmington Hills, who
served as musical director for 14
years, from 1971 to 1985.
Members express a need for the
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
47