On Sunday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., the Marywood Chapel Choir will be sharing a concert with the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus. Each group of singers will perform a few pieces separately and the combined choirs will perform one piece together. The performance will last about 45 minutes. There is no admission fee.  Donations, however, will be accepted at the door and will benefit the Aquinas College Jane Hibbard Idema Women's Studies Center.  The center serves as a community resource for gender and women's issues.  Below is a brief overview of the formation of these two dedicated performing vocal groups.

Marywood Chapel Choir

Since 1922 when the construction of the Marywood motherhouse was complete, Dominican Sisters worshipped and sang all of their liturgical services.  However, many things changed around 1985 with the renovation of the Marywood chapel.

With a new look and purpose for their worship space, the Sisters invited lay people to join them in worship and song.  Women, men and children gradually came;  the body of worshipers grew along with their level of involvement.  The Sunday Assembly continues to be a growing community of Sisters, Associates and lay people who have developed a strong spiritual bond with each other over the past twenty-five years.

The Marywood Chapel Choir is an SATB group of approximately thirty vocalists. The Chapel Choir exquisitely blends the voices of Dominican SIsters ~ Grand Rapids, lay women and men from the Grand Rapids area, and together they continue the Dominican legacy of high-quality liturgical music.

 

Grand Rapids Women's Chorus

Formed by Lori Tennenhouse, the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus (GRWC) began with a group of twelve women who wanted to highlight music composed or arranged by women.  They were well received by the Grand Rapids community and  have been growing and going strong ever since they began in 1997. The fifty-person women's chorus smoothly blends four-part harmonies into beautifully seamless tones.

The mission of GRWC is to sing music that celebrates and honors the diversity of women's lives.  Drawing on compositions from many cultures, the Chorus strives to educate and inspire it's community to promote justice, peace and equality.