Dalton plans first alumni choir show
For more information about DHS Alumni and Friends Choir
Find “Dalton Music Boosters” on Facebook
Email: daltonmusicboosters@gmail.com
Register at tinyurl.com/DHSalumnichoir
Registration Fee: $12 (non-refundable)
Venmo: @Heather-Geiser-4
PayPal: HeatherGeiser01@gmail.com
Check: Make check out to Dalton Music Boosters, with “Alumni Choir” in the memo and mail to: Dalton High School, Attn: Music Boosters, 177 Mill St. N, Dalton OH 44618. Include your name (as you’d like it to appear in the program), mailing address, email, phone, graduation year, and voice part you’d like to sing (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass). After you register, you will receive an email or letter with more information.
Questions? Contact Heather Carr at Dalton High School 330-828-2405, option 4
PHOTO PROVIDED AND DGKN ARCHIVE
Recent choralation performances directed by Dalton High School choir director Heather Carr.
PHOTOS PROVIDED FROM YEARBOOKS, DALTON COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Victor Gerber and Marilyn Rossiter were among earlier choir directors for Dalton High School. Dalton choir has a rich history and was large several decades ago as Gerber encouraged marching band members to join the choir and many students were in the choir.
By JACQUI L. HERSHBERGER
DGKN correspondent
The idea was born during the locked-down, homeschool days of COVID in Spring 2020. On their electronic devices, crowded around their table, the Doug and Deb Wenger kids, along with other students in the district, received an assignment from Dalton choir director Heather Carr. They were to interview a parent about music.
Deb Wenger, treasurer of the Dalton Music Boosters, was questioned by her kids about what choir was like when she was in high school at Dalton. In the mid-1990s, nearly half the high school students were in choir, which meant it was a huge group. Wenger rummaged around and found a CD of her high school choir.
“When they heard it, they were like, ‘Mom, you guys were good!’” Wenger said.
“Listening to it, I remembered all the fun times we had in school and what a great experience being in choir had been. Seeing their excitement made me want to share the memories with others.”
Wenger posted a song or two on Facebook, and comments started rolling in. The post reached more than 2,700 people.
“I wasn’t too surprised that it got so much response,” she said. “We had been a big group, and it was fun to see other people appreciating those times as much as I did, and to relive those days.”
Scott Myers, who was also part of the choir, got a copy of the CD from her and posted the songs, making them downloadable. Again and again, people commented they wished they could sing together another time.
Fast-forward one year, to 2021. Sarah Nussbaum, who is also a part of Dalton Music Boosters, brought the idea of an Alumni Choir to the group. In the past, there had been Alumni Band concerts, but never an Alumni Choir performance. Because of the strong reaction on social media, they decided to give it a go.
One thing they realized fairly quickly is that there are many who aren’t actual alumni of Dalton who might like to be a part of a choir. To that end, anyone who has any connections to Dalton at all is welcome to come sing.
Local resident, Beth Gerber, who graduated from Orrville, hopes to attend.
“I always felt a part of the Dalton community from all my years as a ‘Dari Dolly’ at the Dalton Dari-ette,” Gerber said. “Plus, I married a Bulldog, and my children were Bulldogs.”
The Alumni and Friends Choir will meet Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022 at Dalton High School. The day will consist of a rehearsal from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by lunch provided by the Music Boosters (complimentary for choir members and by pre-sale tickets for family members and others in the community). The afternoon will be open for people to visit and reminisce. That evening, the current Dalton High School choirs will perform at 7 p.m., followed by the Alumni and Friends Choir. A freewill donation will be taken to support the middle school and high school music programs.
Previous choir directors Dirk Eachus, Marilyn Rossiter, and Elsie (Wenger) Shuler will all be involved.
Read the complete report in the Aug. 24, 2022 paper.
