Music for Everyone: Annie Arrington, Director of the Community Chorus at UVMC
Annie Arrington — a teacher, conductor, choral composer, songwriter, and avid researcher of the singing voice — was new to the Upper Valley.
“My husband is a traveling emergency department nurse, and we came to the Upper Valley for a contract position during the fall of 2022,” she recalled. “Whenever I move, I look up community choruses.”
She was astonished to find 30+ opportunities for choral singing when she went online to look for a community chorus. “Upper Valley residents really value choral music. There is such a variety of groups here: gospel, Handel, barbershop, jazz,” Arrington said. “If you want to sing, you can find a group or a conductor with the music and teaching style that’s right for you.”
Later she saw a job opening for Choral Director at Upper Valley Music Center. “It was always my dream to conduct a community chorus,” Arrington said.
Arrington relaunched the Community Chorus at Upper Valley Music Center, creating a welcoming space where singers of all abilities can enjoy the art of choral singing in a fun choral community.
“If you think you cannot sing, it is not true,” Arrington said. “If you can talk, you can sing — and I can teach you.”
She speaks from experience. “When I first fell in love with singing, I had a hard time making my voice work,” Arrington said. “When I went to college, I wanted to teach people how to sing, but classes focused on how to sing classical music, like opera, and there wasn’t a class that taught the foundations of voice. I struggled. It became my mission to teach someone who was not producing free sound how to sing.”
Participants do not need to audition. Members are not required to read music — some do, some don’t — and Arrington offers optional mini-classes before each rehearsal if members want to work on vocal technique.
“It’s a safe place to develop your singing voice,” Arrington said. “The mini-classes provide an extra boost for those who want it.”
Arrington’s unwavering support and enthusiasm underscores UVMC’s mission of music for everyone. “Choral singing connects us as a community and is such a boost for my life and, I hope, for all who come,” Arrington said. “UVMC is a place I can really put my heart behind.”