Vocalists to perform for Veterans Day Concert

Singers are getting together for a Veterans Day concert this Saturday, Nov. 11.

The Bella Vista Women’s Chorus, the Bella Vista Men’s Chorus, the Bentonville High School Chamber Choir and the barbershop-style singing group Perfect Harmony will be singing at the Bella Vista Community Church, located at 75 E Lancashire Blvd., 3 p.m. Saturday.

Dr. Larry Zehring with the Women’s Chorus said that a member of the chorus suggested putting on the concert. The concert is free, he said, but donations will be collected to benefit the Veterans Wall of Honor and the Fayetteville National Cemetery, the latter of which needs funds to expand.

“So we’re trying to help both of those causes,” he said. “We’re hoping for a good turnout and I think it’s a great cause and we have lots of people in this community who are veterans and

it’s an honor for us to do this for them.”

Zehring said he’s a veteran as well. He served in the Coast Guard, he said, primarily handling rescue missions near Texas in the Gulf of Mexico.

John Matthews with the Men’s Chorus said the music at this concert would be primarily patriotic and his specific chorus is going to be doing a salute to fallen veterans as well as each branch of

the military.

“We’re going to be doing the armed forces medley, which salutes the five songs of the armed forces,” he said.

They’ll also be singing a handful of songs that were popular among soldiers during the second world war, he said, as well as Blades of Grass and Pure White Stone.

He appreciates the Women’s Choir spearheading the effort, he said, and he’s glad to see the young singers with the Bentonville High School Choir getting involved.

Terry Hicks, the Bentonville High School Choir’s

director, said he’s bringing 31 singers for a handful of songs.

“We will be singing a piece called ‘Prayer of the Children,’ which I think is particularly moving,” he said. “That one in particular, I know the audience will enjoy.”

The choir, he said, will also be singing at the Noel event in December at the Arend Arts Center.

Karen Frankenfield with Perfect Harmony said that her group is going to bring a different sound - they’re an a cappella barbershop-style group of singers from the area — including Bella Vistans

as well as women from Gravette and Rogers.

“It has a very different flavor,” she said. “We sing because we enjoy singing, we never charge for our performances.”

Bella Vista is fortunate to have several singing groups, she said, which is unusual for a town this size.

Getting them all together is going to be special she said, because at the tail end of the concert, all the singers will get together to perform Battle Hymn of the Republic.

“There will be a big combined effort at the end,” Frankenfield said.