MARION —  Since 1965, the Sippican Choral Society has been bringing music to the South Coast and on Sunday, April 30, the group gathered to sing without masks for the first time since 2019. 

“We are just thrilled that we finally can sing without [masks],” said Sippican Choral Society Vice President Kelli McSweeny. 

Sippican Choral Society President Mike Chaplain added that singing with masks muffles performers’ voices. 

“But the reports from the concerts have been that [they were] good,” he added.

McSweeny said that no audition is necessary to join the choral group. 

“We want to have some people who are very experienced and people who don't have as much experience and they can learn how to sing better,” she said.

Soprano Rah Morris recently joined the choral group. 

“I had heard the music that they performed in their shows, and I knew it was beautiful and really good,” she said.

The Sippican Choral Society performed a variety of ballads that aligned with their chosen theme “Music of Poetry and Love” in Wickenden Chapel at Tabor Academy. 

The full chorus opened the concert with a performance of “If Music Be the Food of Love,” by Henry Heveningham and David C. Dickau with layering harmonies. 

The group performed a number of songs inspired by sonnets written by William Shakespeare and poems by Robert Frost including “Live with Me and Be My Love”  and “Frostiana: The Road not Taken.”

“Spring is for lovers,” said Chaplain. “Music, poetry, Shakespeare's sonnets, Robert Frost, it just brings out spring.”

The Choral Society brought smiles to the audience with their rendition of “Neighbors’ Chorus” from the comic opera La Jolie Parfumeuse. The song portrays a group of neighbors questioning a man about his unrequited love. 

“All of us are neighbors, so we’re very curious, why do you look so low?” they sang. 

The Sippican Choral Society has two performances a year, one in spring and one in winter. 

According to Chaplain, the upcoming winter holiday performance will “make a big splash.”

“We're looking to have an eight piece orchestra with as many singers as we can get,” said Chaplain.