On anniversary, singing a joyful tune

The Snug Harbor Community Chorus marks its 10-year milestone with a concert Saturday.

The Snug Harbor Community Chorus has a name with a double meaning. Snug Harbor is the old harbor section in the town of Duxbury, but a "snug harbor" also connotes a nice place to be, a comfortable environment.

"Whatever's going on in their personal lives," new members "will come to be with us and decide to do something for themselves and try this," said Ron del Pino, the choral group's president. "Music transcends."

The chorus was formed a decade ago by folks who enjoyed singing in church choirs and came together once a year to perform a springtime concert called Pilgrim Pops. The singers' desire to share their love of music "kind of morphed," del Pino said. "They were having such a great time they said, 'We should get together and really do this.' "

For the past two years, the chorus has performed two annual concerts at Duxbury's Performing Arts Center plus free gigs for nonprofit organizations. Add to that participation in the annual summer musical produced by the South Shore Conservatory of Music.

The chorus will celebrate its milestone on May 10 with a spring concert, "The Music, the Magic and the Memories," offering the group's characteristically lively mix of serious, comic, and upbeat songs from popular, folk, and musical theater genres.

"I like to make the community part of the community chorus fun," said the group's artistic director, Roy Kelley of Brockton, who also directs the Charles River Chorale and serves as organist and choirmaster for St. John the Evangelist Church in Duxbury.

The 50-member group is a non-audition chorus, meaning members range from people singing in a group for the first time to singers with formal training, and everybody in between.

"If you have an interest and a desire, just come. You'll be brought along and you'll learn," del Pino said. "The nice thing about the group is it forces us to transcend the differences to find the commonality. This is about the group pulling together for the harmonic sound."

It's a chorus without soloists, where the entire group carries the song, and the product is never entirely on one person's shoulders. The effect is members gain confidence, del Pino said.

They also know they won't be wasting their time, Kelley said. "I treat them like the Tanglewood Chorus, with a little less pressure."

While the chorus's roots are in Duxbury, members come from across the region, from Foxborough to Rochester, Braintree to Brockton. Members tend to be age 40 and up.

The chorus took a big step two years ago in moving from a small performance space in Duxbury's Ellison Center to its Performing Arts Center, a large hall with consequently larger expenses. The Ellison hall was intimate, but the rehearsal space was small and the audience size limited.

"We had to bite the bullet," del Pino said.

A corporate sponsorship from Shaw's helped with expenses. The move succeeded, drawing audiences of up to 500 people.

The chorus has also succeeded in making its annual Christmas season concert a local tradition. Ticket fees help fund an annual scholarship for a regional vocal music student.

Kelley said he prepared an eclectic program for the 10th anniversary show, including songs from the recent musical "Wicked," stage and pop music standards, and mood pieces such as "Shenandoah" and "Over the Rainbow."

On "Handful of Keys" (from "Ain't Misbehavin' "), a song that explains the basis of stride piano, Kelley will join accompanist Kim Glattstein of Duxbury for four-handed play.

The concert will culminate in an encore bringing back chorus cofounder Sue Jannetty to solo in a medley she originally introduced to the chorus.

The show takes place at the Duxbury Performing Arts Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and including a reception afterwards. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and students, and can be ordered in advance from snugharborcc.org.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.