DUNDALK, Md. — "We have The Greatest Showman. We have standard Broadway shows. We have beautiful ballads, and we've got a Katy Perry song."
Their songs are almost as diverse as this group, but director Jennifer Williams brings this amazing ensemble together weekly for the Dundalk Chorus.
We got a little taste of the phenomenal singers, but there are actually 45 in the group. The Dundalk Chorus has been around since 1958.
VIDEO: Together in harmony with the Dundalk Chorus
They're all ages and come from all walks of life: doctors, office workers, teachers, and everything in between.
They all joined for different reasons.
"I recently moved to the Baltimore area. I didn't know anyone, and so I was looking for a way to get involved. I love singing. I was on the Meetup app, and I found the Dundalk Chorus through the Meetup app, and from the first moment I walked in, I felt so welcome," says Emily Yanchuck, singer in the Dundalk Chorus.
"It's just something after a long week. You know that you can look forward to, and even these signs that you're tired from working, you come and you're energized," Jennifer McGough, singer in the Dundalk Chorus.
"This is the one thing we all do for ourselves outside of work, mom and wife and all that, so we come with a sense of joy," says Director Williams.
Joy is definitely what they're feeling now. They're celebrating a major victory.
The women's barbershop a cappella chorus recently won first place in the Sweet Adelines International Atlantic Bay Mountain Region, beating out 18 other groups.
"It was screaming, crying because it was the first time in 45 years that we had placed first, and we had worked so hard it felt like it was something that we had earned," says Yanchuck.
Now they're focusing on an even bigger challenge. They've advanced to the Sweet Adelines International Competition in Columbus, Ohio, in 2026.
That's 18 months away.
"We need it. So, um, when you go international competition, you do two songs like we do at the regional level, and if you get into the top 10, there's an entertainment package you do with 4 more songs, so we've got music to learn, and we have international faculty coaches that come out and work with us four times between now and then," says Director Williams.
"Our incredible Jen, she guides us, she motivates us, she pushes us, and so I think between her leading and us following along, we'll be able to get there," says Yanchuck.
"I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to the journey and how we're going to get there."
It's a labor of love. They'll do it together, in harmony.
