Mixed Community Chorus

Based in Orrville, OH

The vision for what has become the annual tradition of the Orrville Community Chorus began with one man, Victor Gerber. Victor (Vic) first performed "Messiah" in 1928 at Bluffton College, playing viola in a concert featuring a 200-voice choir accompanied by orchestra. In a 1993 interview Vic said, "I fell in love with the work and asked my minister, The Rev. A.R. Kaiser, if it could be sung in my home congregation at Salem Mennonite." The minister agreed. In 1932, Vic directed performances of Handel's "Messiah" at Salem Mennonite Church near Kidron and the First Presbyterian Church in Dalton. Corrine Gerber Krehbiel, Vic's sister, was the first piano accompanist. Thus began a tradition that continues to this day.

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