F
or more than six decades, members
of the Mon Yough communities
have been coming together to
bring the joy of music to their
communities. The Mon Yough Chorale is
a descendant of the Laurel Choraliers, a
group formed in the mid-1950s. The name
changed to the McKeesport Choraliers
in the early 1960s. Under the direction of
Dale Smith, of Elizabeth, the group took
on a new style and grew in numbers and
popularity in the area. Smith directed
the choir for more than 30 years until his
retirement in 2000.
At about the same time, a group by
the name of the White Oak Community
Singers came into being, directed by Allan
Link of McKeesport. Rather than have two
community choruses, the groups merged
in 2001 and the group changed its name
to the Mon Yough Community Singers.
Upon Link’s retirement in 2010, the group
welcomed current director Benjamin
Filippone of Monroeville.
Filippone is active throughout the
Pittsburgh area as a choir conductor and
voice teacher. In addition to directing the
Mon Yough Chorale, he serves as Minister
of Music at First Presbyterian Church of
Pittsburgh, and teaches at the Community
College of Allegheny County. He also sings
with the Pittsburgh Camerata, Bach Choir
and Steel City Men’s Chorale. He holds a
B.A. in music education from Grove City
College, an M.M. in vocal performance
from Duquesne University, and studied in
the D.M.A. program in choral conducting
with a minor in music theory at the
University of Arizona.
The group has been accompanied
by Ellen Gross since 2011. She works
throughout the Pittsburgh area primarily
as a music therapist, hav ing earned her
undergraduate and graduate degrees at
Slippery Rock University and Temple
University, with a master’s degree in music
therapy.
“In 2015, the group felt it was time to
change the name to show how the group
had grown from a ‘community chorus’ to
the more versatile group it is today,” says
Donna Dineen, president of the chorale.
That is when it adopted the current name,
the Mon Yough Chorale.
“The group serves as an outlet for those
who enjoy choral singing and includes
former high school and college choir
members, church choir members who
wanted to branch out in the type of music
they sing, and former and current music
teachers—to name just a few,” notes
Dineen.
The chorale fluctuates around 30
members and is a non-sectarian group of
singers. Anyone who has a good enough
ear to learn the music and hold their part
in a variety of styles and levels of difficulty
(including eight-part a cappella), loves
to sing, wants to get better at singing and
wants to be part of a choral group again
is welcome to join. No auditions are
required. Members as young as 14 years
old are accepted with the permission of a
parent.
The Mon Yough Chorale practices on
Sunday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m., at Sampson’s
Mills Presbyterian Church, located at
1665 Lincoln Way in White Oak. The
fall/Christmas season starts the Sunday
after Labor Day and runs through mid-
December, ending with the group’s annual
Christmas concert. The chorale then takes
a short break until mid-January when it
begins working on the spring/competition
season. That season runs through mid-
June, and summers are off.
“We are currently in our fifth season as
the Mon Yough Chorale, but, technically,
in our 18th season since the merger,”
explains Dineen. “This spring, we will
be singing a wide range of music, from
vocal jazz to 500-year-old Renaissance
madrigals, patriotic music, show tunes,
pop arrangements and more.”
The music director chooses music
for the group based on approaching
performances and what is best suited for
the singers’ voices and abilities, yet what
will challenge and teach the members and
make for a varied and interesting program.
Every June, the group participates
Fun Fact!
The Mon Yough Chorale still has
an original member—Norma
Abbott—of the Laurel Choraliers.
At one point, Norma, her husband
Gil, and three daughters were
members of the McKeesport
Choraliers, with daughter Debbie
as accompanist. Today, Norma
and two of her daughters (Debbie
and Cheryl) still sing with the Mon
Yough Chorale. There are also
two other current members of
the chorale who were part of the
McKeesport Choraliers back in the
late 1960s—Donna Dineen and
Paul Handel.
Interested
in Having
the Chorale
Perform?
The Mon Yough Chorale is
always open to a performance,
whether close to home or out
of the area. Visit monyoughchorale.
org and submit a performance
request. The request will then
be presented to the chorale’s
board for consideration.
in an adjudicated German choral festival,
called Saengerfest, sponsored by the United
Singers Federation of Pennsylvania. In
the past decade of participation, the Mon
Yough Chorale has received first-place
trophies and the highest score many times,
singing in German. Groups from Reading,
Lebanon, Altoona, and Williamsport as well
as Mon Yough host the competition on a
rotating basis. This past June was the 85th
competition hosted by the Gesang Verein
Harmonia Choruses of Williamsport.
Throughout the season, members of
the chorale participate in fundraisers,
including the Empty Bowl in Greensburg—a
fundraiser for the Westmoreland Food Bank.
They sing at area personal care and nursing
homes and have been included in the East
Winds Symphonic Band’s annual Christmas
concert at St. Angela Merici Church in
White Oak. They’ve also been part of
the Ladies’ Grand Army of the Republic
memorial service at the Monongahela
Aquatorium for the past several years.
“The Mon Yough Chorale benefits the
community by providing culture and art,”
says Dineen. “It is an outlet for those who
like to listen to and sing choral music, and
the benefits to the singers are numerous.
Singing together in harmony has been
shown to be the most stress relieving and
bonding activity available. Did you know
that heart rates and brain waves literally sync
when people sing together in harmony? It
is incredibly rewarding to work together
and make music to entertain an audience.
Our members are like family. When you
work together, week after week, you become
attached to those around you, through song.”
The Mon Yough Chorale hopes to keep
singing well into the future—bringing
the joy of music to the area—all while
continuing to grow, both in numbers and
musically.
For more information, visit
monyoughchorale.org. n
McKeesport Area | Winter 2017 | icmags.com 11