Caleb Hopkins took over leadership of a choir twice as old as he is and just in time for a festival that highlights Williamsport’s historic past.
Hopkins, 33, a Bucknell University’s assistant professor of music who directs two choirs there, joined the all-volunteer, 81-year-old Williamsport Civic Chorus as director in August. He joins just in time for its seasonal concert that wraps up the city’s annual pre-Thanksgiving Victorian Christmas festival.
Hopkins calls the chorus a “joy” to work with and deemed himself lucky to replace Michael Conner, who directed for nine years.
“It's been a fun challenge, and it's also been interesting to sort of come in with the group,” Hopkins said. “I had never heard them or met them, and so kind of came in blind or deaf to what we were going to be able to do together, it's been a learning experience for both of us - them getting to know my sort of rehearsal style and me getting to know their capabilities.”
Hopkins moved to Lewisburg in 2022 from the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina. He grew up in South Carolina with a knack for music gained from his musically inclined family.
“I grew up singing and playing instruments, and my mother taught K through five general music for 35 years. She retired - very well deserved - but music was always a part of our home life,” Hopkins said.
In high school, he decided to pursue music at Furman University.
“From there, things evolved from jazz guitar to opera to conducting to a lot of different fields, but never kind of really fully departed away from music,” Hopkins said.
He followed up with graduate music studies at the University of Georgia and Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Hopkins also directs the Bucknell University Choir and the school’s Rooke Chapel Choir.
“I've worked with collegiate choirs, sort of across the United States, as well as community choirs here in Williamsport, New York and in the Carolinas. Of course, church choirs and all kinds of choirs that I've worked with through the years,” he said. “I enjoy the unique challenges and joys that come with working with singers of different ability levels and different ages.”
Hopkins feels the choir benefits the community and brings people together.
“I think there's a lot of benefits to be had for people of all ages, but especially as we journey through adulthood, to sing together,” he said. “I think continuing to be a part of and encouraging that community building and also raising musical standards is sort of my goal wherever I go, whether it be university or community choir.”
The concert is scheduled for Nov. 24 at 3 p.m., and ends the 25th festival. The choir will perform an hour of holiday music at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 1400 Market Street in Williamsport.
“It's just a wonderful way to end and sit down when you're exhausted and then hear this wonderful Christmas music,” said Margaret “Nan” Young, co-founder of the Victorian Christmas Festival.
The choir will perform two sets. The first will featured Spanish-flavored works by Springdale, Pennsylvania, native Conrad Susa.
“These are Spanish-inspired carols that he discovered from a friend who had grown up in the southwestern United States. They're accompanied by marimba, guitar and harp,” Hopkins said.
Susa based the pieces around Jesus’ birth.
“One of the images in the piece is sort of a pinata party for the newborn baby Jesus at Christmas. That inspired Susa to add to Britain's original instrumentation of harp, the marimba and the guitar, which of course, have a rich legacy in Spanish music,” Hopkins said. “There’s a lot of charm and elegance in the piece and I hope folks can come out and enjoy it.”
The other set will feature Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. The choir held a concert dedicated to his works in 2022.
The Williamsport Civic Chorus started in 1944 and has performed biannually at local churches, schools and the Community Arts Center, choir publicist Tina Swisher said.
“The churches have always been very accommodating to us. Sometimes we have to think about the size of the choir and how they can fit into the church, and that can be a difficult thing. We haven't had a problem yet,” Swisher said.
About 65 to 70 members make up the choir.
“We always joke that our average age is about 60,” Swisher said. “But we've actually gotten some younger people involved with young families and people who are still working. We do have ages anywhere from 20s to late 80s.”
Swisher has publicized the choir for 15 years. It’s an escape for her role as the Lycoming County Court’s scheduling technician. She took the job when she moved to Williamsport from Boston, Massachusetts.
“One of the things I love about the chorus is, first of all, I got involved with the chorus when I was kind of new to the area and I didn't know a lot of people. I've made a lot of friends in the chorus as well,” Swisher said. “It also allows me to have a little bit of a vacation from my everyday life. We all have stressful jobs in one way or the other… I always feel refreshed and just fantastically energized when I come out of rehearsal.”
Concert tickets are $10 for senior citizens, $12 for adults. Children under 12 are free. Robert M. Sides, the music store, and The Otto Bookstore are offering discounted tickets. They are also available online.
