If you love to sing, you're invited to participate in the first Chiques Choir Festival, to be held on Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m. The event's location is still being finalized, but rehearsals for the choir will be held on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m., in the sanctuary of Chiques United Methodist Church (UMC), 1215 E. Main St., Mount Joy. Rehearsals will begin on Feb. 23.

The event is being organized by Tom Berdos, director of music for Chiques UMC, who has coordinated a community concert featuring Handel's "Messiah" for many years. Although this will be the first time the choir festival will be held locally, Berdos has conducted the festival at other locations out of state.

While the "Messiah" concert featured a difficult piece of music, the choir festival is more accessible to everyone, Berdos noted. "The music is generally lighter and more varied than 'Messiah,' and it's easier to learn and sing," he stated. "While 'Messiah' is very classical, heavy-duty stuff that takes a lot of work to master, this is not that. This will feature a wide variety of music." The pieces will still be sacred music, he noted, but will include choral anthems ranging in style from classical to modern, including hymns, spirituals and other choral arrangements.

"When I did this concert before, we had people up dancing in the aisles," Berdos commented.

He invites anyone with an interest in singing to join the festival. "There are lots of churches these days that do not offer a choir," he stated. "I'm a big believer in following the Lord's commandment to sing together. I'm hoping people who love to sing but don't have the opportunity to sing in a church choir will jump in. I am looking for anyone who wants to sing sacred music."

The concert will be free to attend, but a freewill offering will be received to benefit local emergency responders. In previous festivals, Berdos said, some of the responders participated in the concert and people whose lives were saved had a chance to speak at the festival.

"My goal for this is to make this festival a community event," he stated. "We want to give back to the people who are giving so much to us. It's about supporting the people in our community who support us."

He noted that he'll be keeping a close eye on COVID restrictions as the festival approaches to determine if the event can be held at the church or will be moved to a larger venue to allow for more social distancing. In the meantime, he encourages anyone who feels called to participate to contact him and join rehearsals.

"You do not need to have a church affiliation to participate," he said. "This is for everyone. I'm inviting anyone who wants to have the opportunity to sing sacred music for the glory of God."

For more information and to sign up to participate, email Berdos at ccmusic.tom@gmail.com.