CULLMAN — From the time she was a child, Charlsa Taul Perdew sang. She sang in church, in school plays, in her Hartselle High School chorus, in college at the University of Alabama, and the University of Illinois, and in the Atlanta Opera for 13 years.

She is a self-described “music geek.”

Nine years ago she and her husband, David, made the decision to move from their home in the crowded suburbs of metro Atlanta to a log cabin in  Eva, Alabama.

For a while she was left with no outlet for her musical talents.

Enter Dr. Rebecca Whited.

The two met at Berkeley Bob’s Coffee House in Cullman. “I really didn’t have any contacts in the music world here until — through divine Intervention- I met Dr. Rebecca Whited in the coffee shop,” recalled Charlsa.

Whited is currently on staff at Wallace State Community College as adjunct professor of music. She also plays the organ at Sacred Heart, and is very active in the Cullman musical community.

Whited contacted Charlsa Perdew soon after their initial meeting to ask if she would be interested in directing and conducting a women’s choir.

Of course Charlsa was interested.

Since its beginning in 2009, the little group of nine original members has grown into a chorus of 30 amazing voices. They call themselves the Cantanti della donna, and they come from all walks of life. They are an eclectic bunch — from rocket scientists and accountants to bookstore owners.

Music is the bond that brought them together.

“There are top quality singers in this group,” says Sister Lynn McKenzie, one of the groups charter members. “It is so satisfying to hear the beautiful sounds that come from these women.”

“This is real quality music for any city, but especially for our little town,” Sister Lynn continued. “We are most fortunate to have Charlsa at the helm, not to mention a very wonderful accompanist and others who are so talented and generous with their time in organizing. Charlsa is such an outgoing person. She has done an amazing job of directing us, even though some of the music is difficult, and sometimes in French, German or Latin.”

“Dr. Rebecca Whited is the mastermind behind the group and is solely responsible for its inception,” Charlsa emphasized. “I have simply been the musical director for most of our performances. We did use a guest conductor last season from UNA, Dr. Ian Loepky. The ladies really enjoyed him and the concert was a big success.”

“We all felt the need for a musical outlet,” said Whited. “I’m just so happy that it took off the way it did. It’s a combination of all our efforts — together we make it work.”

“We sing at St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church. The acoustics are wonderful there and we have drawn great crowds,” added Sister Lynn. “The last concert of this outstanding group was in November. It honored our veterans by a wonderful collection of various patriotic songs. Each season we have had a different theme and an eclectic and entertaining array of music — some quite difficult; some fun — but all good quality music.”

“We try to do a variety of music and have spanned classical, gospel, sacred, Broadway and popular music with our previous selections,” said Charlsa. “This session, we will be performing the Faure Requiem, which has been arranged for women’s voices. It is a gorgeous piece of music; a collection of seven different ‘movements’ to form the whole, and is approximately 40 minutes in duration.”

“We welcome ladies who would like to sing with us, who are able to commit to our rehearsal schedule and are self-motivated to learn the music on their own because we only have nine rehearsals before the performance,” said Charlsa.

Commitment seems to be the key word from everyone involved. “It does require a lot of commitment from all of us,” stressed Whited.  

There will be an information and evaluation session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 at St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church. The meeting is required for those who would like to audition and have not sung with Ms. Perdew prior to this session. The ability to read music is a requirement.

The upcoming season’s performance will be the Faure Requiem, which will be held May 15 at St. John’s. The community is invited.

“For those area merchants interested in becoming a sponsor for this year’s performance, we welcome you to contact us,” encouraged Charlsa.



THE DETAILS

For more information, call 256-796-8698 or 256-318-5204.

Rehearsals:

February 7, 21

March 6, 20

April 3, 17, 24

May 8, 13th Dress rehearsal



May 15 performance of the Faure requiem