The Fox Valley Festival Chorus traces its roots to a humble beginning as a Barber-Greene Company ensemble in 1950. It became a community chorus in 1960, and its name was changed in 1966 to the Aurora Festival Chorus.
The chorus had several directors over the decades, and was rebranded as the Fox Valley Festival Chorus in 1980.
Membership in the group declined in the 1990s, however, and had dwindled to only seven members by the year 2000. In what would become an historic moment for the arts in Aurora and the Fox Valley, Mary Beth McCarthy became the chorus director in that year.
Under her dynamic leadership, the group began to grow in numbers and, without exaggeration, has become Aurora’s and the Fox Valley’s musical ambassador to the world. The chorus has been an amazing story of hard work and dedication from Ms. McCarthy and all of its leaders and members.
Eleanore Strong, the accompanist for the chorus, shared some thoughts about her meeting and working with Ms. McCarthy, first as a student and orchestra member at Rosary College Prep in Aurora. (Full disclosure, Eleanore Strong is my daughter.)
“I was always impressed by how Ms. McCarthy went above and beyond, and tried to give her students cool experiences,” she said. “She organized a trip for our orchestra to Lincoln Center in New York City, and always planned creative and interesting shows that students wanted to be part of.
“As the director of the Festival Chorus, she again planned experiences that members wanted to be part of and that might get new people excited to join.”
Over the years, the chorus began a transition from being only a “local community” service organization to also representing our valley area on national and international stages. Membership grew to more than 60 people, and it currently lists 54 members.
Mary Beth McCarthy’s ideas to give her charges experiences beyond the local community began to take shape in 2013 when the chorus traveled to New York to perform John Rutter’s “Requiem” at the famed Carnegie Hall. The group returned to New York in 2015, and performed Mark Hayes’ “Requiem” at Lincoln Center.
She spoke of her very ambitious ideas to perform at bigger venues and on famous stages.
“I want everyone to learn, but also to really enjoy experiences and to make things a little different every time,” she said. “I like people to become engaged and to enjoy it like I do.”
The chorus’ international experience began in 2017 with a journey to Italy. Amazingly, the group performed in the great cathedrals and basilicas in Rome (including the Vatican), Assisi, Florence and Venice.
Closer to home, the group took a performance tour in 2019 that included Toronto, Canada, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
“I do a lot of research to develop interesting and good itineraries,” she said. “Linda Marquardt, one of our members, has done much work in getting together all the operational things for the tours.”
The Fox Valley Festival Chorus returned recently from a 10-day musical tour of Paris, Chartres and the Normandy region of France. Performances were given at the Church of the Madeleine and the Church of St. Augustine in Paris, and in the Chartres Cathedral in nearby Chartres.
Their journey continued to Caen and the Normandy region, and included a visit to the beaches and to the Normandy American Cemetery to sing our national anthem and hymns, and also to lay a wreath. The travelers I have spoken with agreed it was a solemn, reverent and patriotic experience.
And in the nearby village of Sainte Marie du Mont, a concert was given in the Church of Notre Dame. Chorus members were given a four-minute ovation from the French people, who very openly expressed gratitude to all Americans — a very emotional time with more than a few tears being shed.
As I visited with Ms. McCarthy about the recent trip to France, she insisted that the story not be about her, but about everyone else involved.
“I give a lot of my personal thanks to all. I’m so proud of my chorus … they have worked so very hard,” she said. “I’m grateful to our accompanist Eleanore, and to Nannette Grommes, our rehearsal accompanist.
“My special thanks go to our brass group, the Fox Valley Festival Chorus Brass, who also accompany us on our tours, and to Mark Running, who does a lot of the musical arrangements and coordination with the brass.”
If you know or run into Ms. McCarthy or any of the Festival Chorus members, try to show them your gratitude. They have been goodwill ambassadors of the Fox Valley, and have represented you and all of us around the world.
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.