Reston to Get an Encore Chorale

Seniors who like to sing: Reston is getting a new outpost of a nationally recognized chorale program.

The Encore Chorale, which grew from study on creative aging and an idea from DC’s Levine School of Music about 15 years ago, will start a 14th regional group at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods in September.

Encore Chorale of Reston is for singers 55 and older. It will be under the direction of David Brian Lang, conductor of the Reston Chorale.

There are no auditions for the Encore Chorale of Reston, singers may be seated for rehearsals and performances, and rehearsals are held during daylight hours.

Encore Chorale says it is for evertone: “If you have sung sometime in your life, want to return to singing, or have never sung outside the shower.”

Weekly rehearsals will be held at the RCC Tuesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m. starting on Sept. 1. The first two rehearsals, on Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, will be held at an alternate location, the Reston Community Center Lake Anne, due to unavailability at Hunters Woods those weeks.

After 15 weeks of rehearsal, Encore Chorales perform free concerts for friends, family and the community, at large, high profile venues. The highlight of the holiday season for the last seven years has been the Dec. 23 concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which features more than 200 Encore singers on the Millennium Stage.

Registration opens Aug. 1 for Reston residents (Aug. 8 for non-residents). Contact Cheri Danaher, RCC Arts Education Director at 703-390-6175 or [email protected] to register.

Tuition is $160.00 for Reston residents/$240.00 for non-Reston residents.

Photo: David Brian Lang/Courtesy Reston Chorale