Fine wine helps continue tradition of fine song for Stambaugh Chorus

By Sean Barron

Attendees enjoyed one another’s company, as well as the taste of four wines.

YOUNGSTOWN — Like a fine wine, a finely tuned choral group truly can get better with age.

To help in that effort, though, money is needed, and those with a musical background are often encouraged to join and add their talents.

Raising money for the Stambaugh Chorus while promoting the downtown’s arts and cultural offerings was the main idea behind Sunday’s wine-tasting event at Rosetta Stone Cafe, 110 W. Federal St.

Dozens of people such as Chris Travers and Atty. Patti Dougan paid $15 each to attend the three-hour fundraiser for the 8-year-old musical group, which until about three years ago was known as the Youngstown Symphony Chorus.

“Youngstown used to be the center between Cleveland and Pittsburgh due to the symphony,” said Dougan, a lawyer with Community Legal Aid Services. “Even though the city is shrinking, it has a gem of a chorus.”

“It’s nice to spend a Sunday afternoon supporting Youngstown and the arts,” added Travers, Dougan’s husband.

The Youngstown couple said they feel the city has more cultural events than most cities its size and added that they are happy to see downtown continuing to rebuild.

For Dr. Barb Modic of Columbiana, being an eight-year member of the chorus provides a positive outlet for her sometimes hectic position in internal medicine at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

“It lets me be [more a] part of the community,” Modic explained. “The chorus is an integral part of downtown.”

Modic, who said she’s enjoyed singing most of her life, noted that she heard the chorus “did outstanding music” and wanted to be on board. Modic also said she hopes the fundraiser will help get the word out and lead to more members for the group, which has close to 60.

“It’s like a vocal session every week,” added Modic’s husband, Dave Smith, referring to the group’s Tuesday evening rehearsals.

Many people enjoyed light refreshments, a basket raffle and sampling the four wines, two red and two white varieties. The four were:

UPorta Sole Pinot Grigio (Italy): a fresh, crisp wine with a light aroma of lemon peel and minerals with hints of pear and a slightly tart finish.

UMontenevoso Montepulciano D’Abruzzo: This dry red wine’s grapes are from Eastern Central Italy and have aromas of mulberry, dark black cherries and a subtle hint of oak.

UWesterland Unoaked Chardonnay (South Africa): Name refers to this wine’s being fermented in stainless-steel vats instead of traditional French/American oak barrels. Aroma is reminiscent of golden apples and citrus fruits.

UYali Winemaker’s Selection Cabernet/Carmenere (Chile): exhibits red-berry flavors of raspberry and cherries, as well as hints of vanilla, chocolate and coffee.

The chorus’s director, Dr. Hae-Jong Lee, said he’s proud of the group’s hard work and dedication. Many members want to continue singing even after the end of the two-hour rehearsals, he said.

“It’s great to be the director of the chorus because members come to the chorus with great passion and want to sing,” added Lee, who’s also director of choral activities with Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music.

The Stambaugh Chorus has several major performances annually, the next of which will be a Dec. 2 Handel’s “Messiah” collaboration with Dana students at Stambaugh, noted Julia Catchpole, the group’s president.

The Rosetta Stone was selected for the fundraiser largely because the eatery and Stambaugh Auditorium enjoy a positive relationship with each other, Catchpole noted.

The wine-tasting event was one of numerous charity efforts the restaurant has undertaken since opening in January 2008, noted Greg Sop, who along with his father, Chuck, owns the eatery.

“We like to be an anchor for other nonprofit organization’s fundraisers,” said Sop, adding that every few months his restaurant displays the works of different local and regional artists.