ABOUT
SOUNDING JOY!

  ". . . a gem among area choruses"

               __Jim Lowe
                  Arts Editor, Times Argus, Barre, VT

The Sounding Joy! chorus takes its name from a composition by Justin Morgan, who lived in Randolph in the late 1700s. Justin Morgan not only bred the first Morgan horse, which became the first American breed of horses, he was also a singing teacher and Vermont's foremost composer during the Colonial era. His fuguing tune, "Sounding Joy," was rearranged by Braintree, Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker and serves as the chorus' theme song. (Click here to hear us.)

Sounding Joy! first built its reputation in the mid '80s through a series of festive madrigal dinners. Since that time, it has greatly expanded its musical offerings. It performs a classical repertoire that spans seven centuries, and performances in both in standard and dramatic formats.  In addition to its classical repertoire, Sounding Joy! has become known for its vivid performances within historical American genres of music. Highlights over the years include a costumed program of Civil War songs, a program of '40s music with dancing and big-band accompaniment by the Keynotes, Sentimental Songs of the 1920s and love songs served up with  dessert around Valentine's Day.

Sounding Joy! also takes seriously the privilege of presenting original music, especially by Vermont composers. The singers have devoted no fewer than four concerts to works by Randolph-area composers Gwyneth Walker, Kathy Wonson Eddy, Erik Nielsen and David Gunn. The women of Sounding Joy! sang at Carnegie Hall in November of 2005 in a 200-member chorus performing the work of Ms. Walker.

The chorus has performed with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra and the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra, and also with other Vermont choruses. Sounding Joy! been invited to perform three times at the Vermont History Exposition and three times also at the Vermont State House, at the Governor's Ball, and twice on Vermont Public Radio's "Interlude" program with Peter Fox Smith.

Audiences consistently respond to the group's joy and playfulness as well as its musical sophistication. It is no wonder that Times-Argus critic Jim Lowe has pronounced Sounding Joy! "a gem among area choruses."

   Sounding Joy! at work

   Sacred music from seven centuries occupies a large
   place in the repertoire of Sounding Joy! Most of its
   sacred concerts are performed within the warm
   acoustical atmosphere of Bethany Church on Main
   Street in  Randolph .

 
    Sounding Joy! also sings with instrumental 
    accompaniment--here with the Vermont
   Philharmonic under Lou Kosma

      Vermont Composer Gwyneth Walker, center, with
    the women of  Sounding Joy!

   Sounding Joy! at the Vermont Statehouse
    with the  Montpelier Chamber Orchestra
    under Catherine Orr