So That Music Never Dies, Let All Men Sing!
About the Men's Chorus
Our Mission is to give back to our community the gift of music through quality, entertaining, and enjoyable performances.
Our Actions, to accomplish the mission of the Chorus will be to:
- Provide the Conway area with public concerts of the best in men's choral music expertly performed under skilled leadership and direction,
- Help enrich lives in our community by demonstrating and fostering a love of music,
- Cultivate and enhance the public's appreciation of choral music as a desired and appreciated art form through a wide range of musical styles and genres,
- Provide an opportunity for male singers to participate in men's choral singing, and
- Provide enjoyable fellowship experiences, music education and opportunities for musical self-expression for all chorus members.
Our Values that help shape and focus all Chorus endeavors are:
- Friendship ~ to create collegiality and camaraderie among the members of the chorus
- Respect ~ to always treat each other with integrity and to support each member at his own level of musical knowledge or singing ability
- Quality ~ to work toward artistic excellence and professional appearance while retaining the passion and joy of the amateur
- Responsibility ~ to be openly accountable with high integrity in all fiscal and artistic endeavors to our members, audience and community
CHORUS HISTORY
Getting Started ~
It was early Fall in 1998 when then Arkansas State Representative Tom Courtway invited five of his friends – Jim Beal, Bill Johnson, Richard Hardin, Bill Ward and Arch Jones – to have lunch with him at his Conway law offices. All of these men had some musical affiliation and appreciation. Courtway declared, “I think we should start a men’s chorus. Conway needs it, and it would be a lot of fun.” From that simple beginning, Richard Hardin, a choral director with the Conway Public Schools, began to direct rehearsals and shortly a group of nearly 60 men sang the National Anthem at a Conway High School football game, and later appeared at the Chamber of Commerce’s Second Monday Luncheon before presenting carols as part of the annual downtown Conway Christmas Parade as their first official concert.
Becoming Established ~
Hardin directed the group for seven seasons before turning over the baton to then Arkansas State Senator and former university music professor Gilbert Baker, who directed it for two seasons. Next came Bill Ward, a church choir director, along with his wife, Suzy, as pianist, who directed the Chorus for five seasons. Other directors since then have been former church choir directors Darrell Spigner, Carlos Ichter and Kelley Erstine.
During its history, more than 240 men from Conway and the surrounding central Arkansas area have sung with the chorus at some time, with about 55 participating each concert season. Nearly one-third of the founding members of the Chorus have been able to continue singing all through the years to the present.
There have been four board chairmen since beginning in 1998: Tom Courtway, Jim Beal, Bill Ferguson and current president Mike McCullars.
New Direction and Leadership ~
In January 2009, Sam Huskey, choral director with the Conway Public Schools, became the director of the Chorus until handing over to Jordan Bennett in February 2018. Paul Bradley has served as primary accompanist since the beginning of 2006.
In 2019, the Chorus became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions to the Chorus are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Click on the "Support the Chorus" tab on the left side of this page to find out how to contribute.
Concert Tradition Continues ~
Since the Fall of 1998, the Chorus has presented at least two full concerts each year. Each Spring the Chorus has offered a Pops concert with a wide range of music genres from classical to contemporary, country to folk, doo-wop to patriotic, and pop-rock to barbershop. Each Fall the Chorus has presented a Christmas Holiday concert featuring a variety of traditional secular and sacred Christmas and seasonal favorites.
Through the years, Chorus members have been men from high school age into their 80s. They have had a full range of musical abilities and knowledge. They have been men from all walks of life and in various fields of employment including agriculture, arts, broadcasting, business, construction, education, finance, labor, law, medicine, music, sales, and retired. Put simply, members of the Conway Men’s Chorus have been and continue to be men who love to sing and want to give back to their community the joy of music.
It was early Fall in 1998 when then Arkansas State Representative Tom Courtway invited five of his friends – Jim Beal, Bill Johnson, Richard Hardin, Bill Ward and Arch Jones – to have lunch with him at his Conway law offices. All of these men had some musical affiliation and appreciation. Courtway declared, “I think we should start a men’s chorus. Conway needs it, and it would be a lot of fun.” From that simple beginning, Richard Hardin, a choral director with the Conway Public Schools, began to direct rehearsals and shortly a group of nearly 60 men sang the National Anthem at a Conway High School football game, and later appeared at the Chamber of Commerce’s Second Monday Luncheon before presenting carols as part of the annual downtown Conway Christmas Parade as their first official concert.
Becoming Established ~
Hardin directed the group for seven seasons before turning over the baton to then Arkansas State Senator and former university music professor Gilbert Baker, who directed it for two seasons. Next came Bill Ward, a church choir director, along with his wife, Suzy, as pianist, who directed the Chorus for five seasons. Other directors since then have been former church choir directors Darrell Spigner, Carlos Ichter and Kelley Erstine.
During its history, more than 240 men from Conway and the surrounding central Arkansas area have sung with the chorus at some time, with about 55 participating each concert season. Nearly one-third of the founding members of the Chorus have been able to continue singing all through the years to the present.
There have been four board chairmen since beginning in 1998: Tom Courtway, Jim Beal, Bill Ferguson and current president Mike McCullars.
New Direction and Leadership ~
In January 2009, Sam Huskey, choral director with the Conway Public Schools, became the director of the Chorus until handing over to Jordan Bennett in February 2018. Paul Bradley has served as primary accompanist since the beginning of 2006.
In 2019, the Chorus became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions to the Chorus are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Click on the "Support the Chorus" tab on the left side of this page to find out how to contribute.
Concert Tradition Continues ~
Since the Fall of 1998, the Chorus has presented at least two full concerts each year. Each Spring the Chorus has offered a Pops concert with a wide range of music genres from classical to contemporary, country to folk, doo-wop to patriotic, and pop-rock to barbershop. Each Fall the Chorus has presented a Christmas Holiday concert featuring a variety of traditional secular and sacred Christmas and seasonal favorites.
Through the years, Chorus members have been men from high school age into their 80s. They have had a full range of musical abilities and knowledge. They have been men from all walks of life and in various fields of employment including agriculture, arts, broadcasting, business, construction, education, finance, labor, law, medicine, music, sales, and retired. Put simply, members of the Conway Men’s Chorus have been and continue to be men who love to sing and want to give back to their community the joy of music.
Chorus FAQs:
Q. What is the Conway Men’s Chorus?
A. Since 1998, men from all walks of life and with a wide range of musical talent have come together for the joy of singing and the desire to give back to our community. With more than 50 singing members, the Chorus presents two (2) regular, free concerts performing annually to live audiences of between 650 and 750 people.
Q. How is the Chorus funded?
A. The Conway Men’s Chorus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions to the chorus are tax-deductible as allowed by law.The Chorus is mostly self-funded through donations of time and money from its members. We also are partially funded through generous sponsorships from local businesses and donations from concert patrons. You can find more information on the Supporters page.
Q. When and where do you rehearse?
A. CMC rehearses on Monday evenings from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 4215 Prince Street, at the corner of Hogan Road and Prince Street in Conway, Arkansas. Rehearsals begin for the Fall season on the second Monday in September ending with the concert performance and, after a Holiday break, resume on the first Monday in February ending with the concert performance.
Q. When and where do you perform?
A. The Conway Men's Chorus performs two (2) regular, free concerts each year in the Fall and Spring. Performances are in the 1,200-seat Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall on Beatrice Powell Drive on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.
Q. What time are your performances?
A. The two annual performances – Spring and Fall – begin at 7:00 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. All seats are general seating with no prior reservations required.
Q. How do I get tickets to a performance?
A. There is no admission for the performances and parking is free.
Q. Are the singers professionals?
A. All of the singers in the Conway Men’s Chorus are volunteers and receive no compensation for their participation in the chorus. The members come from all professions and walks of life – lawyers, doctors, dentists, bankers, sales, teachers, administrators, business owners, executives, professionals, agriculture, government, students and retirees. Some members of the Chorus have received professional music training including music degrees and some are by vocation working within the professional and/or educational music world. Most are average everyday men who just love to sing.
Q. Are the singers paid to perform?
A. All of the singers in the Conway Men's Chorus are volunteers and receive no individual payment for their participation.
Q. What if I don’t think that I can sing very well?
A. Most men sing better than they think and we are not looking for accomplished soloists. Rather, anyone with a willing heart, open mind and basic musical talent will find that they are welcome and will fit right in with the Chorus.
Q. Will the Men’s Chorus sing for me or my organization?
A. As an all volunteer chorus, our available rehearsal and performance time is extremely limited. While we would love to do so, we regret that we generally must restrict our performances to those regularly scheduled performances in the Spring and Fall.
Q. What is the Conway Men’s Chorus?
A. Since 1998, men from all walks of life and with a wide range of musical talent have come together for the joy of singing and the desire to give back to our community. With more than 50 singing members, the Chorus presents two (2) regular, free concerts performing annually to live audiences of between 650 and 750 people.
Q. How is the Chorus funded?
A. The Conway Men’s Chorus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions to the chorus are tax-deductible as allowed by law.The Chorus is mostly self-funded through donations of time and money from its members. We also are partially funded through generous sponsorships from local businesses and donations from concert patrons. You can find more information on the Supporters page.
Q. When and where do you rehearse?
A. CMC rehearses on Monday evenings from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Woodland Heights Baptist Church, 4215 Prince Street, at the corner of Hogan Road and Prince Street in Conway, Arkansas. Rehearsals begin for the Fall season on the second Monday in September ending with the concert performance and, after a Holiday break, resume on the first Monday in February ending with the concert performance.
Q. When and where do you perform?
A. The Conway Men's Chorus performs two (2) regular, free concerts each year in the Fall and Spring. Performances are in the 1,200-seat Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall on Beatrice Powell Drive on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.
Q. What time are your performances?
A. The two annual performances – Spring and Fall – begin at 7:00 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. All seats are general seating with no prior reservations required.
Q. How do I get tickets to a performance?
A. There is no admission for the performances and parking is free.
Q. Are the singers professionals?
A. All of the singers in the Conway Men’s Chorus are volunteers and receive no compensation for their participation in the chorus. The members come from all professions and walks of life – lawyers, doctors, dentists, bankers, sales, teachers, administrators, business owners, executives, professionals, agriculture, government, students and retirees. Some members of the Chorus have received professional music training including music degrees and some are by vocation working within the professional and/or educational music world. Most are average everyday men who just love to sing.
Q. Are the singers paid to perform?
A. All of the singers in the Conway Men's Chorus are volunteers and receive no individual payment for their participation.
Q. What if I don’t think that I can sing very well?
A. Most men sing better than they think and we are not looking for accomplished soloists. Rather, anyone with a willing heart, open mind and basic musical talent will find that they are welcome and will fit right in with the Chorus.
Q. Will the Men’s Chorus sing for me or my organization?
A. As an all volunteer chorus, our available rehearsal and performance time is extremely limited. While we would love to do so, we regret that we generally must restrict our performances to those regularly scheduled performances in the Spring and Fall.