"In 1968 a hospital chaplain asked if we'd put together a Christmas concert," says Gay, who was conducting a church choir at the time. "Eleven of us sang for the patients. It was two or three couples and our kids. The kids didn't have any choice."

The chorale grew from that gig, as did Gay's mission to reach audiences that don't always have the opportunity to hear a full choir perform. Today the 35-member choir stages as many as 24 concerts a year.

"We've sung in retirement homes and mobile home parks," Cathy Beaupre, Gay's eldest daughter, says. "We even sang at Atascadero prison."

"We want a ready-made audience," Gay says. "We don't want to have to sell tickets."

Gay will make an exception for the final concert of the chorale's spring season, set for June 3 at Cupertino's Quinlan Community Center. In keeping with the choir's nonprofit status, concert patrons will be asked for donations.

They may have been forced to sing as children, but as adults Gay's daughters made their own choices. Beaupre divides conducting chores with her mother, whom she calls Mimi, and Beaupre's sister, Kimberley Gay, still sings occasionally with the choir.

The family togetherness doesn't end when they step off the risers. Gay shares a house with her daughters and her son Vince, although Beaupre is the only offspring who lives there full time. Mother and daughter agree there's always been a strong bond between them.

"We've been buddies since [Beaupre] was a kid," Gay says.

"She and I never run out of things to talk about," Beaupre says. "We have the choir together. We run an interior design business together. We own a home together, and we even travel together.

"We get along, even though we're very different people," Beaupre says. "I'd have to say it's the music that does it and that we know how to laugh."

The conductors infuse the chorale's repertoire with their love of musical variety and their sense of fun. This season's selections are a typical mix of classical, folk, pop and show tunes, designed to appeal to a broad audience.

"Audiences say two things: 'We like the variety' and 'You look like you're having fun up there,' " Beaupre says.

Chorale members dress in costume for some numbers and learn movements to accompany others.

"It's one of my strong beliefs that choral music can be visual," Gay says.

"Lots of music has movement implicit in it," Beaupre says. "It's interesting to portray that."

As much fun as it is to perform, singing with the Valley Chorale involves a serious time commitment. The choir rehearses weekly, and each singer contributes at least $200 a year.

"It is demanding," Gay says. "Twenty-four concerts a year is a lot."

On the other hand, she says, too much work goes into each season's repertoire for her singers not to take the stage multiple times.

"These are people who want the performance experience more than once or twice a year," Gay says.

She makes sure her singers have both the voice and the temperament necessary to succeed in the Valley Chorale.

"We audition for blend and personality," she says. "I want reasonable people--no prima donnas."

As the conductor, Gay likes to build her choir from the bottom up.

"I feel a choir rides on its bass section," Gay says. "If you have a great bass section, you have a great choir. Fortunately, right now we're very rich" in men with low voices.

Sunnyvale businessman Art Takahara has been adding his bass to the Valley Chorale for 20 years. He says he was initially enticed to join by the variety of music the choir sings and by the theatricality of its performances. He also enjoys the challenge of tackling eight-part harmony and memorizing all his music.

"When you don't have a book, you're looking at the conductor more," Takahara says. "You're able to perform much better when you're not looking at your music."

Beaupre says she and her mother try to ensure that the Valley Chorale provides a learning experience for its members.

"I feel like we've accomplished something if our singers are finding challenges," she adds.

The Valley Chorale performs its 37th anniversary concert on June 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road. Suggested donation is $5-$10. For more information, call 408.732.2588 or visit www.valleychorale.org.