50 YEAR HISTORY NORTHLAND COMMUNITY CHOIR 1974 – 2024

 The Northland Community Choir of Kansas City, Missouri, evolved from a group of choir members of ten churches who gathered to sing for the 1974 Union (Community) Thanksgiving Service at Park Hill Baptist Church, Parkville, Mo. John Baker was the director. The group came together again in the spring of 1975 to perform Handel’s Messiah, led by Mr. Baker.

The group participated again in the Thanksgiving services of 1976 and 1977 under the leadership of David Hodges. The ensemble formalized their existence, chose the name Northland Community Choir, and has been in continuous existence since then as a non-auditioned, non-profit organization. Although the term Northland refers to the Kansas City metropolitan area north of the Missouri River, the group has continually attracted members from across the KC area.

Initially, the choir’s spring concerts involved the performance of a major work, such as Messiah in 1975 and 1977. The 1976 concert featured The Conversion of St. Paul from Mendelssohn’s oratorio Paulus, directed by Dr. Don Brown of William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. In 1978 the choir joined Dennis Herron and the Northland Symphony to perform Bach’s Magnificat.

Through the years, NCC has been governed by an Executive Board with officers and committee chairs elected and appointed from the choir. In recent years, the Board of Directors has been comprised of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, several committee chairs, and the director. The Board has monthly meetings, and NCC members are always welcome to attend.

Singers were originally required to buy their own music because the group generated no money. Concerts were free to the public, and the director and accompanist worked pro bono. As the ensemble grew, dues were charged each season, spring and fall, to coordinate with the school year calendar, to pay for music and professional direction. In 1984 the choir established its own Music Library, and in 2016 absorbed the choral music from the discontinued Park University Choral Music Department.

Eighteen professional musicians have served the choir as director during the fifty years of its existence, and membership has ranged from 25 to 125 and members.

Each Artistic Director brought their own expertise and preferences to the choir. Two people holding this position who affected great changes to the choir were Janice Ragland and Paul Erickson. Ms. Ragland was the director for seventeen years, coming from a background of teaching in public schools and in private voice lessons. She was able to use her contacts in the Northland community to facilitate concerts, locate vocal and instrumental musicians to perform with the choir, and borrow music. Mr. Erickson was director for eight years, coming from a background of performing and recording as a professional concert pianist; doctoral studies at University of Missouri, Kansas City; a church musician; and a Disciples of Christ ordained minister.

The Northland Chamber Choir, an outgrowth of the larger choir, was established in 1989 and performed across Kansas City for a decade. This group of 12-16 auditioned NCC members was hired to sing at numerous venues across the city as well as continuing with the scheduled activities of the larger choir. The revenue generated by the Ensemble was critical to the continued existence of NCC at a time when interest in choral singing was dwindling.

In 2012, the choir began performing four times a year, rather than two. Two of the concerts were presented to raise funds for non-profit organizations, and two concerts to support the choir itself. Admission fees were discontinued; however, donations were encouraged, with $10 as a suggested amount.

Members have paid a tuition fee ranging from $15 to $70 per semester season to support the choir’s budget, with the fee waived for high school and college students. Primary expenses of NCC include salaries for professional musicians hired as director and accompanist, music purchase, printing costs, public relations, advertising, and guest vocalists/ instrumentalists. In recent years the International Center for Music at Park University has been a valuable resource for hiring concert accompanists, soloists, and guest performers.

Concerts have been performed in a wide variety of musical genres: sacred, contemporary, Broadway, classical, seasonal, Americana, composer, and major works. NCC has collaborated with public schools, colleges, church choirs, community choirs, local orchestras and bands, guest instrumentalists, and dance groups.

For decades NCC rehearsed and performed in local churches, most notably the Hillside Christian Church, Kansas City, Mo., and Parkville (Mo.) Presbyterian Church. In 2004 when interest in membership was waning and leaders saw a need for major changes to the organization of the choir, NCC affiliated with the newly revived Music Program at Park University. The group rehearsed and performed on the Parkville campus. The Music Department Chair at Park, Adam Wade Duncan, became the NCC Artistic Director, and the university helped support the choir financially for five years, until their choral music program was discontinued, along with monetary support to NCC. Park continued to provide the choir rehearsal space and the traditional performance venue, the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel.

Grants and matching funds are sought to support the choir’s mission of providing a place for people to sing and to prepare for public concerts. Through the years, concert admission has been free or a minimal charge of $10 – $25, currently $10, with no charge for students. Donations from members, their employers, concert attendees, and local businesses have always played a significant role in sustaining the choir. Like most small non-profits, NCC is continually seeking sources of revenue.