The BWC was founded by director Becky Graber in 1996 to unite the Brattleboro community through song and is now organized as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. The first group of 50 singers met in what was KidsPlayce in the fall and prepared songs that were performed in the midst of a snow storm in December (which then led us to change our concerts to November). The music chosen was diverse and spirited, and the singers kept returning – and still do return each semester – for more!
Since 1996, very little has prevented the chorus from weekly singing each semester — only the occasional snow, ice, and maybe once, the mud. Yet rehearsal power outages and even a pandemic only brought everyone closer. Chorus was the only Zoom everyone seemed to love!
Most semesters a theme often arises in the music, but occasionally we focused on a special project. In Spring 2002 we learned and performed the incredibly beautiful and difficult piece, Adiemus by Karl Jenkins that became a favorite experience of many singers. The 2003-2004 year was dedicated to the Music of our Spheres project when local poet Verandah Porche mentored BWC singers to write their own poems that were then put to music.
Anniversaries are well celebrated in the BWC. Our 10th Anniversary featured a spotlight on the singers, compiling our experiences and hilarious factoids into a wonderfully entertaining homage. Our 20th Anniversary concert was dedicated to songs written by Becky Graber and included a Mardi Gras-eque band leading a parade down Main Street after the concert! This contrasted drastically with our 25th Anniversary, which was celebrated on Zoom during Covid in 2020-21, but our “concert” featured many local musicians who had connections to Chorus.
The Chorus has worked with numerous local musicians over the years who accompanied us in various concerts. Each of them offered a unique experience and enriched our music. You can see all the concert songs and musicians we’ve worked with over the years here.
In addition to our bi-annual concerts, members of the chorus have sung for community events like World Aids Day, Take Back the Night, Strolling of the Heifers, Singing Valentines, memorial services, and International Women’s Day.
There are so many memories created together: the time a bat was trapped in our concert hall, or we had to rehearse in our winter gear because the heat went out. We rehearsed outdoors throughout the pandemic and at times in Spring when we couldn’t stand to be indoors anymore. We have mourned the passing of singers, and celebrated the births of children who later became singers themselves.
As we approach our 30th Anniversary, we are collecting stories of how our singers came to the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus. The stories are as varied as the singers are and will give you a good sense of how special this group has become for many. We continue to create a very special community that is welcoming, friendly and open to all. We hope you’ll join us!