Greater Harmony Chorus marks 50th year in 2026
MARSHALL TWP, Allegheny County — The four-part harmonies sung by the Greater Harmony Chorus are as entertaining to listen to as they are to sing for its 40-plus women members.
The group performs around the Butler County and northern Allegheny County areas at events like community days, parades and at nursing homes, where people can sing along to well-known hits a cappella style.
But the chorus also sings at competitions, where it and other similar choruses vie to be best in their regions.
Michelle Riggi-Smith, marketing director for the Greater Harmony Chorus, said as much as she enjoys performing at events, it is the competitions where she and the other members really demonstrate their chops.
“Competition is my favorite thing, so our rehearsal is to hone our skill to be the best we can be for when we get to competition,” Riggi-Smith said. “There are two songs, ‘Beyond the Sea’ is our ballad and we also perform an up tune, and we have choreography for that one.”
The Greater Harmony Chorus, which is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International, is commemorating its 50th year. Sweet Adelines International has chapters around the world. The other choruses the Greater Harmony Chorus competes with at competitions are also part of the organization.
While some of the Greater Harmony Chorus’ members enjoy the competitive elements of being in the group, they each just enjoy the opportunity to sing with other people and create music that is impossible on one’s own.
Riggi-Smith said the four-part harmonies — made up of bass, baritone, alto and tenor voices — cannot be replicated on an instrument. Additionally, the barbershop-style the chorus sings in adds an element of fun to the music not possible without a group.
The allure of singing in a technical group reaches around the region, with some people traveling from Ohio and West Virginia to attend weekly rehearsals with the chorus at Hope Campus in Marshall Township. Every Tuesday evening, songs can be heard emanating from a gathering room on campus, where the chorus members learn songs and perfect their performance.
On March 10, the chorus rehearsed “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, and “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin.
Carol Anderson, who is on the membership committee and the visual team of the Greater Harmony Chorus, said the group also has “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, and “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Paul Simon in its repertoire. Even without instruments, those songs are recognizable thanks to the multitude of parts voiced by the chorus’ four sections.
Music director Michael Hengelsberg curates the songs the group will perform and guides them through their parts as they sing them at rehearsals and at shows.
“We try to learn four new songs a year,” Riggi-Smith said. “And our music is memorized, so you won’t see us standing up there with music.”
Riggi-Smith said women can audition to join the chorus and it lets them attend a few rehearsals for help before they take on an actual audition. While it may be intimidating to some, she recalled she had never sung in public prior to joining the group around 33 years ago.
Anderson also learned to sing through joining the chorus rather than joining after a lifetime of performance.
“I walk in and thought, ‘I can do this,’” she said of her first visit to a Greater Harmony Chorus rehearsal.
Another aspect that might make joining the chorus seem intimidating but actually adds to the showmanship of its members is the choreography, which members develop for certain songs. Anderson said the chorus’ current senior member, Lynn Ross, teaches choreography and helps members with their hair and makeup for their performances.
Ross has been a member for 47 of the chorus’ now 50-year history. She said the chorus has changed in size over the years, but the current membership of a little over 45 people is pretty average for the group.
“We’ve been up to 80 before,” Ross said.
Another one of the chorus’ longtime members is Nancy Klein, who has been a member of the group for 43 years. She recalled her early days with the group when it still performed well-known music but it was more in line with the era.
She said the chorus has been a way for her to stay active into her mid-80s, and it remains challenging because of the way its members have to sing.
“This hobby we have, there's no accompaniment except blowing that pitch,” Klein said. “You just pray that by the time you start and get to the end it's going to be still in tune. And for the most part we are.”
Klein added she experienced several life events alongside members of the chorus, many of whom she considers as close as family. She is one of the oldest members of the chorus and her granddaughter, Kelley O’Leary, is its youngest at 23 years old.
Klein said her granddaughter joined the chorus when she was just 12 years old, which was after years of already knowing many of its members and its songs.
“I used to take care of her when she was a baby and I would learn all my music in the car playing CDs, and she would know my music better than I did,” Klein said.
O’Leary said in addition to her love for singing, she has stayed with the chorus because its members are also her family.
“I grew up with it. I knew a bunch of members and I considered them like a family before I even joined,” O’Leary said. “You watch each other's lives. You really bond with these people.”
Riggi-Smith said many people get involved with the Greater Harmony Chorus to be a part of its performances and many stay for the comradery. She said people who have never experienced a women-led barbershop-style chorus may enjoy the musical stylings of the Greater Harmony Chorus.
“I fell in love with it,” Riggi-Smith said. “I had never heard women sing barbershop before.”
For more information on the Greater Harmony Chorus, including how to audition and its schedule of upcoming shows, visit its website at greaterharmony.org.
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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The Greater Harmony Chorus during rehearsal on Tuesday, March 10. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
