Steppin' Out
Story
It's 'Fun Times' all the time for local community chorus
By Heather Zimmerman
It may sound like a contradiction, but the Fun Times Singers take their name seriously. This community chorus of about 70 singers performs a variety of uplifting music, and emphasizes a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for listeners and singers alike.
Audiences can get a taste of some of the group's past performances at the Fun Times Singers' summer concert, "Fun Times' Favorites," taking place Aug. 24-25, 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of San Jose, 1980 Hamilton Ave., San Jose.
The performance, celebrating the Singers' fifth year under the direction of musician and composer Laura Green, will include the group's favorite selections from concerts performed during Green's tenure.
Members of the chorus voted on which songs will be featured in the "Fun Times' Favorites" performance, and the program includes such diverse choices as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Girl From Ipanema," "It's Too Darn Hot," "Ashokan Farewell" and "Venus," in a special arrangement by Green. "It's a huge variety because each concert has a theme," Lynda Fox, a longtime Fun Times Singers member, says. "The only theme of this concert is that these are songs that we have done before, and that these are our favorites."
The Fun Times Singers' regular concerts, held three times a year, feature a theme that ties the tunes together, with the winter concert always being a holiday show. Pianist Marlene Fernandez accompanies every performance.
For their concerts, the Singers draw on an array of popular music and standards, including works by the Beatles, Irving Berlin, ABBA, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Stephen Sondheim, to name just a few. "I know the kinds of things that people like [to sing], and the kinds of things that we do well and so I try to maximize that with the music that I select," director Green says of what she looks for in choosing music for the group.
It was Cole Porter--and the group's welcoming spirit--that convinced Fox to join the Fun Times Singers about 10 years ago. She attended a concert, an all-Porter program, she recalls, and she signed up with the group the next day. Fox is now the Fun Times Singers' president emeritus, having served as the first president when the chorus became a nonprofit group. She continues to sing with the group, as well as help behind the scenes.
A unique feature of the Fun Times Singers is that membership is open to anyone, with no auditions required to join. "If you want to sing, you come in and you sing," Fox says. "We have all degrees. We have really professional singers; we have experienced singers; we have brand-new singers."
Auditions are required for members who wish to sing "specials," featured songs performed by small ensembles during the Fun Times Singers' regular concerts.
Fox notes that the group's supportive atmosphere usually spurs members to further explore music. "People get excited and they start learning how to read music or they just listen to the CD that one of our members makes," she says.
One tech-savvy singer in the group makes CDs that can aid chorus members in learning the music outside of rehearsals. And in fact, that attitude, of going the extra mile, seems to define the Fun Times Singers onstage and off. "I have a lot of help in the group. All you have to do is ask for something and you get it," Green says.
That applies to the group's community outreach, as well. The Fun Times Singers have performed regularly at such community events as city tree lighting ceremonies and the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life fundraiser. During one holiday season, a small group from the chorus sang carols beside a supermarket checkout stand, at the store's invitation. For a while, a puppy training to be a service dog even joined the group during its rehearsals, sitting with her trainer, a chorus member, in the alto section. "We decided she was an alto and she's kind of a choir mascot," Green says with a laugh.
The Fun Times Singers also support another chorus as part of its nonprofit organization. The Choraliers, also directed by Green, are a group of about 40 older singers who perform for the elderly at convalescent homes and senior centers. The group had previously been affiliated with De Anza College and its older adult studies program. When that program ended, the Choraliers found support with the Fun Times Singers and have since received a grant from Arts Council Silicon Valley. There is a small amount of overlap in membership of about five or six singers between the Fun Times Singers and the Choraliers, something that Green says is starting to grow.
The group is also always looking for new members. It's easiest for new members to join at the beginning of each season--that is, several months before the next concert. The Fun Times Singers' fall season begins Sept. 12, 7 p.m., at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 12770 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga, where the group holds weekly rehearsals. The fall season culminates in a holiday concert held in December.
Tickets for 'Fun Times' Favorites' are $8-$12 in advance/$10-$14 at the door. For more information, call 408.313.4205 or visit www.funtimessingers.org.
