Merrimack Valley Chorus

Lynn DeVivo had enjoyed listening to and singing with her husband Dick's SPEBSQSA [ Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America] friends. In a moment of weakness, Carl D'Angio agreed to direct if Lynn could find the women willing to join in. On January 31, 1974, a group of 32 interested women met at the Tewksbury Senior Center on Main Street. Within a short time, rehearsals were moved to the Tewksbury Town Hall across the street.

Some of our first music was "Give My Regards to Broadway", "Inscription on the Statue of Liberty", and "What's New." Our first public appearance was part of a benefit performance at Tewksbury High School. We were growing, singing and having lots of fun and moved from Town Hall into the basement of St. William's School hall ... still on Main Street in Tewksbury. The group grew to 52 and chartered in May of 1975. We moved again and spent several years at the Ballardvale United Church on Clark Road in Andover and finally came to the Wilmington Arts Council Building, where we now rehearse.

We competed for the first time in 1976 at the Bradford Hotel in Boston singing "Looking at the World Through Rose Colored Glasses" and "Roses of Yesterday." We placed 11th (which we found out was not so bad).

In 1985, MVC sang its way into the chorus championship and represented Region #1 [at the International competition] in Philadelphia in 1986. Even though we placed 23rd (in the whole world), we were ecstatic and ready to come back and do it all again!

Our first show, "Once Upon a Dream" was May 17, 1975 at the West Junior High School in Andover. Shows followed every year. Our audiences led us to believe that each one had been better than the one before. Over the years we have improved and often included in our shows top-notch barbershop quartets. We have also had guest choruses: The Andover Townsmen and The Narragansett Bay Chorus - both members of SPEBSQSA.

In our 31 years as a chorus, we have had [six] directors: Carl D'Angio, Marcia Hill, Karen Rourke, Dianne Dickson, Ann Donoghue and now Eileen Gioe. Lynn DeVivo, our founder, established a strong administrative base for the chorus and we have done a lot of things right over the years.

When Marcia Hill moved to Wales we told her one day we would come to her house for an Afterglow. That idea began a series of travels for the chorus. First, we went to England and Wales ... and yes, we did visit Marcia. Since then, MVC has traveled to Paris, Spain, Austria, Italy, and sailed on a Carnival Cruise to St. Martin, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. During these trips, we have experienced memorable events that brought laughter, joy and awe.

We have sung and sung and sung ... for nursing homes (lots), for malls, for community groups (outdoors and indoors), for choral festivals and sheep-shearing festivals, for scouts and parents, for mothers and daughters, for seniors and youngsters, at the Hatch Shell, on TV, at Quincy Market and all for the joy of singing.

In addition, we have been a chorus active in the regional organization. We have had three Regents [the administrative leader of the region before SAI moved to Team Management] For those of you who are visitors or new to the chorus - you, too, can share in this life of MVC. It is exciting and adventurous. You will never be the same!

One of the old guys ... Marge Bennett