Summer Sings are open, informal scratch performances of major works. You come to sing, not just to listen! It helps if you can read a score, but sight-singing skills are not required.
SUMMER SING 2025 DATES TBD
Our Lady of Mercy Church
70-01 Kessel Street, Forest Hills
$20 Entry for Each Session, or $35 for Both Sessions
Doors open at 7:15pm
All are welcome; there are no auditions or requirements to prepare. We provide the musical scores, conductor, pianist and soloists; you form the chorus. The emphasis is on singing and having fun!
The area around Our Lady of Mercy Church is blessed with ample free street parking. There is elevator access to the church for those with limited mobility. The church has excellent air conditioning and offers a large airy space with good ventilation.
Singers will be well separated. We do not have any requirements for masking or vaccination at this time, but you are welcome to wear a mask if you choose, and there is ample room to distance from other singers if needed.
If you have your own musical score, of any edition, please bring it along. If not, you can simply borrow one from us on the night.
Please come along to one or both of the sings, and inform your friends too. What better way to celebrate summer than singing with friends!
Please reach out to us at theforesthillschoir@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question here.
A Summer Sing is an open, scratch performance of a major choral work. There is no prior rehearsal, anyone can join, and the performing group is made up of whoever shows up to sing that day. The atmosphere is informal: conductors prioritize fun and are generous to their choristers. Singers usually create a rousing performance even when resources are limited or unbalanced.
Yes! Everyone is welcome, so come along and take part as well as you are able. Mistakes don’t matter - we are all only there to have fun and nobody will feel exposed. While not necessary, it does help to be able to follow a part from sheet music, the lines and rhythm if not the notes. Scores for all the pieces are available on these web pages, so if you would like to practice, find a Youtube recording and try to sing along.
In accordance with current guidelines for performance venues in New York City, we are not enforcing any masking or vaccination requirements at this time. Where possible we will allow for individual preferences, for example reserving a section for those wishing to wear a mask.
You can purchase your ticket in advance here through Paypal, or pay on the night at the door, by cash, venmo, or with a check to Forest Hills Choir. The fee is $15 for each session, with no extra charge for borrowing a score. You are welcome to come to listen, so long as you pay your fee and don’t expect a top class performance. If you have a score then please do bring it. You can also download a score onto a tablet and sing from that. But many people will borrow one of the scores that we will provide.
Most people sit with their voice section, because that makes it easier to sing, and for the conductor to guide us. But you are welcome to sit wherever you like, so if a group of four of you have always wanted to sing the chorus parts as a quartet, then be our guests!
The conductor might ask us to stand for certain sections, and you are always free to stand, though try not to block the view of others. If standing is difficult for you, then that is fine as well, sit near the front. Our goal is to give as many people as possible as much pleasure as possible from singing, so we want to minimize the obstacles to that.
Our Lady of Mercy is a Roman Catholic Parish church located in Forest Hills, at 70-02 Kessel Street. Its website is https://mercyhills.org. While we ask that people respect the sacred space, Summer Sings are secular occasions and all are welcome.
The church is convenient to major highways, enjoys abundant free street parking, and has elevator access for the less mobile. The church is spacious and airy and has a good acoustic to sing in. It also has effective and quiet air conditioning.
To get to the church by mass transit, take the E or F subway to Forest Hills/Continental Avenue or the LIRR to Forest Hills. Then walk southbound along 71st Avenue for 10-12 minutes and turn right onto Kessel Street. The Q23 bus provides closer access but follows a circuitous route; join southbound on 71st Avenue, and exit at Loubet Street/70th Avenue. There is also a taxi stand at Queens Boulevard and 71st Avenue.
Mozart Requiem
Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus
Conducted by Todd Wachsman and Ben Arendsen
Fauré Requiem
Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine
Brahms: How Lovely (in English, from Requiem)
Conducted by Adam Eggleston
Carmina Burana
Conducted by James John
Fauré Requiem
Conducted by Todd Wachsman
Mozart Requiem
Conducted by Ben Arendsen
Brahms Requiem
Conducted by James John
Vivaldi Gloria
Conducted by Ben Arendsen
Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes
Conducted by Todd Wachsman
Copyright © 2022 The Forest Hills Choir - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.