Dear Supporter of ACC and the Arts,

Greetings from Abington Choral Club as many of us approach the Fall and Winter seasons in higher spirits this year!  Since you last heard from us via letter, ACC has returned to in-person rehearsals and has presented a live concert at our traditional venue, Abington Senior High School.  What a year it has been for our group with a highlight surely being seeing each other’s faces and hearing each other’s voices live once again!

First, please mark your calendars for our December 3^rd, 7:30 p.m. concert at the Abington Senior High School.  We are busily rehearsing a mix of holiday music, including Conrad Susa’s Carols and Lullabies – Christmas in the Southwest where we will be accompanied by harp, guitar, and marimba.  Expect to hear these instrumentalists throughout the concert, enhancing other selections as well.  We have built our program to include ACC holiday favorites, new Hanukkah pieces, and arrangements by our Director, Peter Hilliard.  Singers are being particularly challenged with enunciating a set of new rapid lyrics to have you understand and share in the harried Countdown to Christmas.  We hope you will be able to join us to experience the pleasure of live music and kick off your winter holidays by attending our concert!

Since the beginning of 2022, we have added almost twenty singers to our Fall 2021 core group of 40+, including eight singers totally new to ACC and at least ten faces and voices rejoining us!  A group of singers, family and friends attended a Trenton Thunder game in August, with ACC performing on the field, opening the game with our national anthem and singing God Bless America during the 7^th inning stretch.  Our plans are to return to singing at one or two retirement communities in December, as part of our community outreach initiative.  It will be wonderful to again share in person our joy and music with the residents of these communities.

We wish to thank you immensely for your support.  You have enabled us to try some new things which sustained our organization and brought hope that ACC could maintain during a time when all the performing arts were so restricted:

• Fall 2021 outdoor rehearsals in the somewhat sheltered pavilion at the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown leading to a professionally produced 45-minute holiday 2021 video which we were able to make available to four local nursing homes and retirement communities
• Member picnics, Summer 2021 and 2022, at Fort Washington State Park to share personal news, catch up, reconnect, and create excitement for singing together again
• Continuing to fund a May scholarship awarded this year to Abington senior Dahlia Ufberg, who is now attending Drexel University and intending to major in marketing with a minor in musical theater.

We could not have made it this far without you.  Many stepped up last year to contribute a total of over $10,000 in patron donations.  Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to ACC again this year; any amount (including an increase!) is so welcome.  Feel free to use the enclosed envelope.  All patron donations received by November 15th will be recognized in our December concert program.

We also wish to acknowledge Hope Community Church in Willow Grove for generously welcoming our ACC rehearsals this year, as we searched for a temporary home which would allow singers the comfort of an expanded rehearsal space and fewer health worries.

And finally, watch for announcements about our May 2023 concert with plans to feature local baritone Keith Spencer joining us for a program that will include favorite spirituals and Broadway tunes!

With gratitude for your consideration,

Alan Wendell, President

Alan Wendell, president

Donations by check can be sent to:

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