The Caliente Community Chorus is preparing for its fifth annual cul-de-sac concert, a performance that is also a fundraiser for an upcoming international trip.
The choir was established in the fall of 2006 by Virginia Nickels, director, Robyn Woodard, accompanist, and Paula Fischer.
The outdoor concert tradition began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Woodard suggested gathering the group to perform distanced in her cul-de-sac after indoor rehearsals were suspended. The initial event drew approximately 70 participants, with neighbors supplying electricity for the band.
Over the last two decades, the choir has brought singers from the Farmington area to stages across the globe.
The choir traveled to Italy in the summer of 2007 and originally planned to disband afterward, but it remained active due to community interest.
This year’s 45-minute performance will feature a 50-50 raffle to raise money for a 10-day tour next year to Lithuania and Poland. There, the choir will perform in the Music Celebrations International Baltics Choral Festival.
Raffle tickets cost $5 for a single ticket or $20 for five, with half the total pot funding the tour and the other half awarded to the winner.
As the choir prepares for its upcoming 20th anniversary season, which begins on Aug. 18, Caliente Community Chorus is actively seeking to recruit new singers to join the community.
Nickels recently returned from a director’s preview trip to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and was impressed by the region’s heritage of group performances.
“They have this historic tradition of community singing,” Nickels said. “And I would like for more people in the community to participate, not just as an audience member, but as a performing member.”
The concert program will feature pop and choral selections, including Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” and a South African freedom song called “Siyahamba.”
The audience will also be invited to participate in a sing-along of “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
The outdoor performance is designed to be casual. Attendees are encouraged to set up lawn chairs directly in the street
“Come and have fun and hang out with a community,” Nickels said. “Be prepared to have fun and laugh and sing along.”
Those interested in joining the choir and for more event information, visit calientechoir.org.
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