Men’s choir taking on oldie hits at 2nd annual concert
After taking some time off in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Cranberry Men’s Chorus went from performing classic barbershop chorus tunes to songs from the era when many of its members were in their youth.
The chorus will bring its Flashback Soundtrack concert to North Catholic High School once again this month, when its members will perform songs from the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Eagles and many more of their favorite artists.
This is the second year the chorus is performing a Flashback Soundtrack show, and Ron Brooks, director of the chorus, said the group welcomes audience participation in the concert.
“We've continued this trip down memory lane with our audience with Flashback Soundtrack 2,” Brooks said. “It's a show where we expect people to sing along with us, stand up, clap along.”
Brooks said the chorus, a nonprofit organization, has about 40 members. Some of the songs in the show are sung by the whole group, while others feature one or a few vocalists.
The chorus is still a barbershop-style group, but Brooks said its focus has changed to performing more well-known songs.
Although the style has changed, Brooks said the chorus’ mission to promote music and the enjoyment of singing as a group remains the chorus’ calling card.
Brooks said the annual September concert is the group’s big fundraiser for the year, but the chorus also does Christmas concerts in the winter. Money raised through the shows is donated to charitable causes, Brooks said.
While fundraising is always on the mind of the performers, Brooks said they want first and foremost to entertain their viewers.
“The chorus just took off with this and we love it,” he said of the new musical selection. “We had 500 people in our audience last year, which was fantastic.”
The Flashback Soundtrack 2 concert will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in the auditorium at North Catholic High School in Cranberry Township. Tickets are $20, and Brooks said they are likely to sell out before the show. Tickets are available online at cranberrymenschorus.com, where more information also can be found.
