To the editor:

The board of directors for the Adirondack Singers met in August and, sadly, made the decision to cease operations as of now. In a way, the Singers were another victim of COVID. The Singers started in 1968, was initially under the umbrella of North Country Community College and was known as the North Country Community College Choral. It existed for 20 years before it became an independent group in 1988. At that time, it was formalized as a charitable corporation under the laws of New York state and became known as the Adirondack Singers. Formal bylaws were adopted in November 1989, and in June of 2001 the Singers were finally recognized as a tax exempt organization by the IRS.

All during that time, there were rehearsals and performances both during the holiday season and in the springtime around Mother’s Day. At first, St. Bernard’s was home base and then, more recently, rehearsals have been at Adirondack Alliance Church with local performances at First United Methodist Church. For many years, the Singers also did spring concerts in Tupper Lake and at other locations including Long Lake and the Wild Center. On two occasions, the Singers sang backup to Kenny Rogers during Christmas concerts at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. The choir varied in size from year to year with an average of about 35 voices.

The board wants to express our thanks to the community for their enthusiastic support over these many years. We also want to thank Karen Butters, our long time music director; Linda Warner, who served as board president for 1988 until 2021; Beryl Szwed, who has been the treasurer since 1988; and Diane Peterson, who has served as our secretary. Additional board members Rick Burdt, Don Morgan, Ruth Woodward (who was singing with the group in 1968), Chris Schmeichel and Rich Loeber. We also want thank all those who joined our voices over the years.

A founding purpose was to provide music to the community, and we are sorry that we will no longer be able to do that after 55 years.

The Adirondack Singers gathered on Sept. 24 for a closing party. Twenty current and former Singers attended and we had a wonderful time of reliving memories, sharing a meal and honoring those who helped to make this happen over the years. Our party closed by singing a favorite piece called “Ashokan Farewell.” It was a fitting close to our long run of choral music.

Rich Loeber

Board president

Adirondack Singers