Making music

     By Damon Hodge
     View staff writer
      Yvonne Svensson looks on as gray-haired men in red-striped barbers' jackets and women with feather-decorated hats pump hands and feet in unison for a rendition of the "Wells Fargo Wagon."
      Svensson joins in, mouthing the words and swaying her arms to the music, hoping to coax a bit more energy from the voices in the Sun City Musicmakers Chorale.
      A high school vocal teacher for 24 years and former choir and musical director, she's familiar with last-minute preparation, and pulling off the biggest program in the Musicmakers' seven-year history means hitting every note and nailing every line.
      The 47-member club spent four months preparing for the spring concert. The second showing of "So Where Ya'll From" starts at 7 p.m. today inside the Starbright Theatre, adjacent to the Pinnacle Community Center.
      The musical celebrates cities and states immortalized in song. Choral numbers include "Georgia," "Oklahoma," "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and a production medley of "Music Man," replete with costumes and choreography.
      Among numbers performed by smaller groups and soloists are "New York, New York," "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "We'll Be Together," an original arrangement of a number made famous by The Four Freshman and sung by the club's own Four Seniors -- Jerry Clune, Vince Robio, George Pucine and Arnie Webster.
      "We are really excited about this program," said Svensson, who expects the 312-seat theater to be near capacity come show time. "The audience is in for a treat."
      Club chairman JoAnne Bray said the chorale has come a long way since it was started in January 1992 by a handful of women looking for a musical outlet. When she joined in the fall of 1992, the women met in each other's homes. Any production, much less a big one, was whimsy.
      "We started off with whatever music we could find in the libraries and would go around town singing at different places," said Bray, who's been singing since age 5 and once belonged to a quartet called the In-Laws with her husband and his family. "We got sponsorship from the Shearing Eye Institute and that helped us begin building our musical library. Our first concert, we had about 150 people. Now it looks like we might have to add more concerts because this concert is packed."
      Crowds for the fall and spring concerts get bigger each year.
      Wilma Elgort attributes that to the quality productions. She credits Svensson with raising the bar.
      "We were kind of rag-tag in the beginning, but we worked with what we had," she said. "Yvonne really works with people like me who are not necessarily trained in music but love singing," said Elgort, whose musical background comprises playing the drums in high school and decades in church choirs. Chorale performances at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities added confidence in her voice.
      "Now we've moved from musicals to productions with costumes, lighting, make-up, the works," Elgort said.
      Shiny gowns and top hats abound in the two-act concert whose theme Svensson culled from her decades-long experience in music.
      "There's a song in there for almost everybody," she said.
      Dave Marrow sang in high school and church choirs in Iowa and later directed the Shriners Chanters, a singing group affiliated with the international philanthropic organization.
      He's tickled pink that "Music Man," an Iowa tune, joined other odes to U.S. cities and states such as "Moon Over Miami," "Vienna, My City of Dreams" and "California, Here I Come." A veteran of quartets, quintets and octets and 10 chorale concerts, he still gets nervous when it's show time.
      Robio, for years a church soloist in Southern California, enjoys practices.
      "There's an enthusiasm within the club. We have all become really good friends," the three-year member said. "We have a great time working together and learning together. We laugh half of the time that we should be practicing."
      The chorale has its share of veteran performers, including a former radio and television personality and a trumpet player who played with the Lawrence Welk Band and crooner Kaye Kaiser, among others.
      "We have such a great group of people that I can do the more challenging music and productions," Svensson said. "And everybody has a mutual respect for each other. The veterans help those with less experience. I'm always open. We've had dozens of rehearsals at my home."
      Six-year member Maryethel Ramig worked on the script for the concert and expects the chorale's biggest show to be it's best yet.
      "We're sure people will enjoy the concert," she said. "We've got some great music."