Whether fulfilling a passion for singing or simply gaining musical experience, community members can look to Peninsula Singers, a local choir for the musically inclined who enjoy songs of all genres.
Peninsula Singers is a nonprofit group dedicated to arts awareness in the community. When it began in 2004, the program provided a place for Point Loma High School students to sing with other members of the community. In 2003, the school cut its choir program, among others, due to funding constraints, according to Mike Price, Point Loma’s principal from 1996 to 2004.
Today, the Peninsula Singers’ voices continue to entertain audiences all over San Diego.
“One of our goals is to have more community groups at libraries,” Sarah Suhonen, Peninsula Singers artistic director, said.
This weekend, the Singers and the Point Loma Nazarene University music department will present the annual Madrigal Dinner, featuring a full-course meal and performances of madrigals and motets. The event runs Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31, at 7:30 p.m., at the university.
Other upcoming performances in store for the spring include the Volunteer Dinner at the USS Midway on April 17 and the Friends of the Library performance on May 23 at the Point Loma library.
According to Judy Eby, former Singers board president, the group usually performs for free, asking for donations of no more than $5. Expenses are covered by donations, the Hervey Family fund, a City of San Diego grant and membership dues, said Suhonen.
A main focus of the group is strengthening awareness of the arts in the community by educating performers and making music more accessible to audiences, according to Suhonen.
“We want to educate people about music who have not necessarily had the chance to learn,” Suhonen said.
The group encourages and attracts people of all different ages and abilities. The 60-person group includes high school students to members in their late ’80s.
And this choir group with a wide range of experience levels and generations has an equally diverse repertoire of songs. The Singers perform pop songs, ’60s and ’70s covers, Beatles songs, classical tunes and even Caribbean themes.
“We like to do things that represent Point Loma,” Suhonen said. “This year we’re doing a medley of sea chants and sailor songs.”
The Peninsula Singers meet every Monday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Point Loma library, 3701 Voltaire St. Music classes are held before rehearsals at 5 p.m. For more information, call (619) 226-3240 or visit www.peninsulasingerssandiego.org.
For more on the Madrigal Dinner, call (619) 849-2325 or visit www.pointloma.edu/MusicCalendar.