Traditionally held on a Sunday, the alumni celebration was moved to Saturday, Dec. 14. to accommodate alumni traveling from outside of Jamestown.

Doors open at 3 p.m. and limited seating is expected to be available in the main sanctuary due to the size of the choir. Overflow seating will be made available in the church hall and a livestream will be available at jpsny.org/acappella.

“We are looking forward to building a bridge between the alumni and current members of the choir,” said Director Lauren Scharf. “It’s incredible to see the influx of registrations come in and realize the importance this choir has had on so many people across the years.”

The occasion will help mark the centennial of the choir’s founding by Ebba Goranson in 1924. The Vespers are sacred music concerts performed each December at First Lutheran Church, featuring excerpts from major choral works and seasonal songs and carols to help provide a bit of cheer during the holiday season.

Ebba Goranson, founder of the A Cappella Choir, seated at the piano, rehearses choir members in the 1950s. Goranson merged the boys and girls glee clubs in 1924 to establish the first choir, serving as its director until her death in December 1957.

“The choir has been very busy preparing for this upcoming Vespers season,” said Scharf. “We have close to 15 performances in and around the community including our Alumni Vespers performance on Saturday, December 14th which already has close to 400 registered alumni! You can expect to hear some familiar songs and some new ones. We are especially excited to sing excerpts from Handel’s Messiah alongside the alumni choir. Other choir favorites include ‘Lux Aurumque’ by Eric Whitacre and ‘Gloria’ by Tristino Ali”

The 58-voice A Cappella Choir features smaller ensembles, including the Madrigal Singers, Men of Tomorrow and Ladies of Today. The choir will be accompanied on the piano by Julie Livengood and on the organ by Brian A. Bogey, the choir’s director emeritus, and additional organ accompaniment from Gail Espinoza. The Madrigal Singers are also scheduled to perform at a number of holiday events across the Jamestown community.

The alumni choir will sing excerpts from Handel’s Messiah — including the “Hallelujah Chorus” — the choir’s processional “Kyrie,” “Little Innocent Lamb,” “Carol of the Bells,” “First Noel” and longtime recessional “Silent Night.” Bogey and fellow director emeritus Norman D. Lydell, the choir’s director from 2003 to 2020, will also conduct the choir during the Dec. 14 alumni performance.

Choral music education has enjoyed a long, rich tradition at Jamestown High School marked by the arrival of Ebba Goranson in 1920. In 1924, Goranson combined the boys and girls glee clubs to form the A Cappella Choir, serving as its first director until her passing in 1957. A trailblazer, 100 years ago this year, she was also named the district’s Supervisor of Music — the first woman in the state to be assigned such responsibility.

Prior to her passing on Dec. 10, 1957, Goranson, who had been ill most of that holiday season, remarked to her pastor, “This Christmas, I shall hear the perfect A Cappella Choir” according to The Post-Journal’s reporting of her death.

Over 375 alumni of the Jamestown High School A Cappella Choir are expected to join this year’s choir for the organization’s 100th anniversary Vespers service this weekend. The performance will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 120 Chandler Street. Admission is free and a good-will offering will be taken.

Lucille Lown, Goranson’s accompanist, finished out the 1957-58 school year. In 1958, the district appointed Donald B. Bubé, a vocal instructor from Ithaca College, to serve as the second director of the choir. A passionate artist, he served the high school until 1981. Two of his students went on to succeed him.

In 1982, Bogey became the first alumnus of the choir to hold the director’s position. Since his retirement in 2003, he continues to support the efforts of the A Cappella through friendship, counsel, and as organist. From 2003 to 2020, Lydell served as director and continues to provide counsel to and support to the choir in many ways. Scharf was appointed to serve as director in 2020.

Through its travels across the country and globe, the choir is known as the “Choir of Cathedrals.” Venues have included, among many others, the National Shrine Basilica and National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C; New York City’s famed Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, and Saint John the Divine Cathedral; Boston’s Old North Church, St. Michael’s R.C. Cathedral in Toronto, Canada; and St. Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna, (home of the Vienna Boys Choir).

The choir also has participated in several master classes at prestigious universities and has performed at a number of professional sporting events and historical sites. In December of 2009, the Madrigal Singers performed with recording artist Kenny Rogers and in December of 2015, the choir performed with acclaimed performing artist Jim Brickman. The choir has also performed at Walt Disney World twice: at Disney Springs in 2014 and in EPCOT’s Candlelight Processional, narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, in 2019. In 2023, the Madrigal Singers performed with Buffalo-based theater organization, Starring Buffalo, in a production of “Sister Act: The Musical.”