Fulton County Choral Club Works in Harmony
Writer / Robert Noah Torres
Photography Provided
The Fulton County Choral Club (FCCC) is a community nonprofit organization that is composed of dedicated and fun-loving women who make up its four-part chorus.
Though there are more than four members, the core group is made of a first and second soprano and first and second alto. The FCCC is all about practicing the art of singing, having fun and working together in harmony. Harmony in all respects. The women that make up the club practice, practice, and practice but don’t just do it for themselves, they do it to give back to one another and their community at large.
The Fulton CO. 4-H Fairgrounds, where practice is held three times a month, is not only a place to harmonize in song but a place of internal and external harmony. Internally, the mostly retired group of women that make up the FCCC love to blend their voices in harmony which, according to president Linda Wade, is a “part of you that never retires.” Externally, the club gives back by hosting community events and participating in various choral shows in and around Fulton County.
More than a group of dedicated and generous women, those who make up the FCCC are family — a family that works hard and loves what they do. While there exist roles in the club, the participants all share responsibility and help look after one another. Leadership in the club concerns maintaining their schedules, keeping track of program music, and, most importantly, expressing affection and concern for other members. While there exist roles in the club, all of those who are a part of it take on leadership roles as is necessary. No member is greater than the other and all help one another, as a family does. Amongst this family of harmonious voices and affectionate women, there is a musical mascot. The four-year-old daughter of one of the members has been with the club since she was a newborn. She helps where she can and flutters around the space brightening it up with her playful spirit. Sometimes she will sit next to the accompanist and softly twiddle with the keys or she may stand next to the director and help orchestrate the best she can. Whoever first arrives at the 4-H fairgrounds helps in setting up — bringing out the piano, putting out information the women may need, and greeting those arriving with love and care makes up the start of rehearsal. Prayer and concerns are given out at the beginning as well, along with cards to be signed and sent out if need be.
From there they practice.
“It is work – it is not just opening your mouth and beautiful sounds always comes out,” Wade says. “In many instances, one of the vocal parts has to do a breakdown on their lines with just their notes being played.”
Their practice of the music they select is like practice for anything, they go over a measure or two countless times until it is time to perform.
The Fulton County Choral Club is a part of the Extension Homemakers of Fulton County as well as a part of the state Melody Makers of Indiana. The Fulton County Choral Club started in 1936 and has been a stable part of the Extension program ever since. The purpose of the club is to create and maintain a place of friendship and belonging.
The FCCC is a place to give back. Even if only when they gather to sing, though they do much more. The women who make up the club are there to give back to each other and their community.
In the future, the FCCC aims to keep singing and growing. As they braved the thick of a global pandemic, their numbers are beginning to soar again despite being reduced to half their size prior. As numbers grow, the club plans to work on a Spring Show for 2023. The Spring Show has typically been an event filled with whole group and small group participants as well as one special comedy trio. In the future, the FCCC aims to accompany this with pageantry and choreography.
The Fulton County Choral Club meets at the Fulton County Fairgrounds, 1003 W. 3rd St., Rochester, IN, on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Monday of the month. The entrance, as well as parking, are on the south side and women of all ages who are interested in joining are encouraged to stop by. They can be reached via email at fcchoralclub@gmail.com and through Facebook @fultoncountychoralclub.
More information can be found on their website; fcchoralclub.wixsite.com/home, as well as the Melody Makers of Indiana website melodymakersofindiana.com/fulton-county-chorus.
