In Thursday’s (3/15) Boston Globe, Nancy Shohet West writes, “When Stow [Massachusetts] resident Barbara Jones considers the rigors of participating in a volunteer chorus or orchestra like the one she directs, she acknowledges it might be surprising that anyone participates. ‘After a long day of work, our members subject themselves to the discipline of linguistic challenges, the technical demands of the music, the physical rigors of singing or playing an instrument; yet they continue to return for the rewards that only the collective musical experience can give,’ she said of the more than 80 members of the Sounds of Stow Festival Chorus & Orchestra. And the ensemble has been drawing area musicians and singers for a long time—33 years, counting the new season that begins with its 3 p.m. performance Sunday at Hale Middle School, 55 Hartley Road in Stow. Jones cofounded the group in the late 1970s shortly after she had moved to the small, semirural community. … She and the accompanist are the Sounds of Stow’s only paid employees; all of the singers and instrumentalists are volunteers … its roster includes residents of 22 communities, ranging from high school students to senior citizens.”
Posted March 15, 2012
