On May 9 and 10, she will sing, as she has every year, in the annual South Hills Chorale Spring Concert at Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m. She will join 80 other chorale members and their director Henry D. Monsch, Jr. to present "A Sentimental Journey" in music.

" I love to sing and I love the friends I have made. A lot of people call it (the Chorale) our second family," she said at a Sunday afternoon rehearsal at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon. .

Carol joined Karen Christensen, Joan Russell, Audrey Moeller, Jean Wright, Don Moore and their director as they talked about the chorale and the members long commitment to its success..

Tapping expertise

Members contribute their professional expertise also. For example Audrey Moeller, former V.P and Corporate Secretary of Equitable Resources is Development Advisor and Don Moore, renowned for his rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy, lends his accounting know how.

Director Monsch, who everyone calls 'Hank' joined the group as a bass voice and picked up the director's baton in 1966. A quiet , distinguished man, he has guided the vocal musicians ever since. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon and retired Keystone Oaks School District music teacher he is also artistic director of Music for Mt. Lebanon.

Music fits all

He chooses music that not only fits his audience, but also his singers who range in age from high school students to seniors.

" The most challenging work we've done was Puccini's Messa di Gloria about five years ago," he recalls.

Monsch's selections may be part of the chorale's growing audiences. He chooses composers that are popular but who also stand the test of time and is an unabashed promoter of patriotic songs. However, his favorite piece was the recent performance of St. Patrick's Mass by Philip Green.

The chorale performed recently with the River City Brass Band at Heinz Hall and with the Dallas Brass at the Music for Mt. Lebanon concert in April. They have performed with the Mt. Lebanon High School Percussion Ensemble, the Keystone Oaks High School Steel Band and the Slippery Rock University Ensembles.

Good neighbors

The South Hills Chorale is a good neighbor and community member. They participated in fundraisers for the Katrina Victims in Pittsburgh, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Capital Campaign after Hurricane Ivan and the Carnegie Library of Homestead .

The South Hills Chorale receives an annual grant of $4,500 from the Allegheny Regional Asset District and expects that State Representative Matt Smith will present the chorale a \Pennsylvania State Economic and Cultural Grant for $10,000 at the May 9 concert.

For ticket information call 412 - 347 - 0175 or 412 - 343 - 4153 for group rates. If interested in adding a voice to the chorus, call 412 - 571 - 2266 to schedule an audition.