Falls choir concerts to pay tribute to Bacharach

May 13—Veronica Schucker has been helping students discover the joy of music and singing in the Niagara Falls School District for more than 30 years.

This week, the director of the Niagara Falls Community Choir is hoping to draw a crowd for a celebration of a legendary composer, songwriter, pianist and producer who brought a lot of joy to music fans around the world.

The choir, a collection of singers from in and around the Falls led by Schucker, will be singing songs written by Burt Bacharach during a pair of concerts this weekend.

The shows will include choir renditions of many of Bacharach's biggest hits, including "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" "What the World Needs Now," "That's What Friends Are For" and a medley that features "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head."

Choir members have been practicing the Bacharach catalogue since January. The idea came from a member who suggested doing a concert to pay tribute to Bacharach who died on Feb. 8, 2023.

"We just started digging through our library of music and going through his catalog," Schucker said.

"They're just fun songs to sing. They are a challenge," she added.

The Niagara Falls Community Choir started in 2022 in the wake of the dissolution of the Rainbow Singers, another Falls-based choir. Several of the community choir members previously served as Rainbow Singers, according to Schrucker.

"The people that sing in this group they enjoy doing it," she said. "They enjoy singing and they enjoy singing together. It's a community."

"At this point, being together for a couple of years, we're friends," she added. "We're a group of friends who get together to sing."

The first of two-weekend concerts in tribute to Bacharach will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church, 2748 Military Road, Niagara Falls. The second is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, 1201 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls. A reception will be held following Saturday's show at the NACC. Both concerts are free, although the all-volunteer does accept goodwill offerings.

"We have a choir of all levels of ability, but we get together because we all like to sing," Schucker said.

When asked why residents should consider attending the upcoming concerts, Schucker said for one reason: The "joy" of celebrating music.

"They should come for the joy," she said.