World War I had ended, the Great Depression hadn’t started yet, and the United States was enjoying a general burst of prosperity and happiness. That national feeling poured out in song—hundreds of songs, in fact. They’re some of the most memorable and timeless tunes around, and they’re the inspiration behind Coastal Voices’ upcoming concert, “Roaring through the Twenties.”
“Originally, I was going to do a joint concert—’20s and ’30s—but there was too much good music,” said director Margaret Nelson.
Coastal Voices—a traditional choir that sings in four-part harmony—handled the ’30s music in a previous concert. To build this ’20s-based show, Nelson sifted through more than 300 pieces of music. She orders every arrangement of a song she can find, she explained, then she goes through the sheet music repeatedly, playing the vocal parts, then playing the accompaniment. Buying enough copies of a song for the whole choir to use costs about $80; Nelson orders most of her material online from an L.A.-based shop that lets directors choose one copy of anything that can then be returned for credit.
“I’m spending money on music,” Nelson said, “and the board has not told me that I have to send anything back yet. So I just keep doing it.”
Even while enjoying such musical freedom, the director sometimes has trouble narrowing down her choices. For the upcoming concert, she said the group will be singing 16 or 18 pieces as a choir. They’ll also be performing a medley that includes the most recognizable and famous bits from 35 or 40 more songs.
“Our program is four pages, just because it takes that many pages to stick all the songs in,” Nelson said. “The medley takes up two pages all by itself!”
Later in the interview, she noted, “I just counted 67 titles we’re going to touch on.”
The show will run for about two hours, including an intermission. Nelson said she tried to keep it to an hour and 45 minutes, but the music kept coming. And what music it is: “It Had to Be You,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” “Old Man River,” “Stardust.”
“This stuff is 80 and 90 years old, but it’s played today,” Nelson said. “People know it. It’s not old-fashioned. … This is music you would like your kids to hear.”
The group likes to encourage a connection with youth. They let all students 18 and younger into concerts for free, and also ask high schoolers to usher for performances. One of the board members acts as a liaison with the area’s high schools.
Still, many of Coastal Voices’ biggest fans are 60 and older, said board president Marianne Greenelsh. Retired listeners like to attend matinees, so the group shoots for a Saturday afternoon concert, and then another on a Monday evening, the group’s regular rehearsal night. Greenelsh said that atypical concert schedule takes the group “out of the competition of those precious weekend nights.” Monday-night shows are very well attended.
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The choir, about 35 people, is made up of singers of all ages. Greenelsh herself sings alto, which she’s done with the group for 11 years—as long as it’s been around.
“When we started off, we were the Master Chorale,” she explained, “back when the Coastal Valley Symphony was in the area.”
The singers performed with the instruments until the symphony dissolved. Greenelsh said that at that point, Delores Duran—who was getting a master’s degree in directing—called a bunch of people to get a singing group together. She directed until she passed away in 2007. She had already selected music for a Veteran’s Day concert, so Greenelsh held the group together for the performance that November.
Then they kept singing.
Nelson, a singer in the group and someone with elementary-school teaching experience, said she’d direct while they waited for a permanent director. Here it’s 2011, and she’s still going strong with eight concerts to her credit.
“I was a singer,” she said. “I never wanted to direct. Whenever I had to stand in for somebody, I felt awkward and uncomfortable.”
Now, she admits she loves it: “You tell the group that you want something, and they do it. It’s the most magical thing.”
Over the years, Nelson has played to her strengths and interests. She did a Rodgers and Hammerstein show, and joined with Allan Hancock College singers to perform Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.”
“I try to plan my concerts a year in advance,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about next year’s concert in the springtime: Do I do ’40s? I don’t think so … .”
She also attends American Choral Directors Association workshops to continue stretching and growing her skills.
The “Roaring through the Twenties” concert will also feature a men’s barbershop quartet (Four in a Chord), a women’s barbershop quartet (The Songbirds) including Greenelsh, and the Oasis Ukulele Band.
Want to join Coastal Voices?
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“We are open to people coming to sing with us,” Nelson said. “If we overfill our risers, we can always buy another set. That’s no problem.”
“We’re just normal everyday people from the community who love to sing,” Greenelsh said.
Jazz and Concert
Allan Hancock College is showing off two of its bands: Greg Stoll will direct the concert band as it finishes its season with various selections, including tubas blaring “Deep River,” on May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Santa Maria. Tickets cost $10, or $5 for students. Chuck Osborne directs the jazz band in a concert set for May 15 at 7 p.m. at Unity Chapel of Light in Orcutt.
That’s 30 fingers!
Hear “Piano for Six Hands,” presented by the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society on May 13 at 8 p.m. at the Clark Center in Arroyo Grande. Tickets cost $35 to $48. Kirill and Anna Gliadkovsky and their daughter Anastassia will tackle the piece.
The council has decided
Hear the music (and see the arts, dance, and more) of this year’s grant winners as the Santa Maria Arts Council showcases local young talent at Santa Maria’s Veteran’s Memorial Community Center on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. Admission costs $25 for adults, $15 for students.
Bang bang!
Hear Teddy Spanke and the Tex Pistols at 8:30 p.m., followed by a late-night DJ on May 13 at Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. A May 14 concert brings a familiar face: Teddy Spanke and the Boys play a “Concert on the Deck” at 8:30 p.m., followed again by a late-night DJ.
Contact Executive Editor Ryan Miller at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 12-19, 2011.