Community concerts benefit Helping Hands
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LAKE COUNTY — Community voices rang out together on April 10 and 11 in choir concerts benefiting both the Mission Valley Choral Society and Helping Hands.
Helping Hands is a local non-profit that addresses the needs of individuals and families in Lake County. Supported in part by area churches, people who go to places of worship in need are directed to Helping Hands for resources and support. The organization has even taken on doing what they can for homeless high school students. Helping Hands is a focal point for care, as local churches describe it, and something many community members want to support. One way the organization has received financial support in the past has been through Mission Valley Choral Society festivals.
The April 10 and 11 concerts were some of the first for MVCS since the pandemic. The events were streamed online for those who couldn’t attend in person. Director Chris Bumgarner said the concert, titled “The Awakening” after a Joseph M. Martin song the choir performed, was somewhat symbolic.
“It really talks about silence. No church bells ring, no one is singing,” Bumgarner said of the song. “Then awake, let the music live… It was kind of symbolic for COVID shutting everything down. It feels like we’re kind of waking back up.”
The regular choir of 24 was joined by close to a dozen guest singers for the last two songs on Sunday at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Polson. While that number may have been higher in the past, Bumgarner was still pleased with the turnout.
“People were so responsive,” he said. “They missed live music. It was nice to have that again, and it was really fun to be able to honor Donna Rowold in that portion of it too.”
Bumgarner credits Rowold of the Good Shepard Lutheran Church for beginning the mass choirs that brought the churches together to benefit Helping Hands, something he said she organized for many years until her retirement. She has since passed away, and her husband Paul and youngest daughter Stephanie attended on Sunday in her stead.
One of the songs performed with accompanying violin, “In Remembrance” by Jeffery L. Ames, brought back many memories for Stephanie. Bumgarner said she told him she had performed the song herself at All State in high school, a time during which her mother was alive. Bumgarner said he felt the coincidence was a sweet way that God put things together to honor Rowold.
Many people came together to make the concert a reality. Bumgarner specifically mentioned his appreciation for President Susan Fortner, Treasurer Karen McCullough, local Sophia Donovan who helped with the organization and music, and accompanists Anna Dupuis and Joe Martinez. He was especially thankful to pianist Karla Gallatin for her talent and help, and the New Life Church for hosting rehearsals.
Helping Hands Executive Director Jennifer Rolfsness expressed her gratitude on behalf of the non-profit as well. “We feel very humbled and honored by the community’s generosity,” she said. “We were blessed beyond measure with that great concert that the Mission Valley Choral Society put on.”
If people would like to join in as guest singers in the next concert, the Mission Valley Choral Society will resume practicing in September. See their Facebook page to stay informed as the month approaches.
