New Frederick Chorale music director harbors long passion for chorus music
Dec. 1—Heidi Ackerman, the Frederick Chorale's new music director, had a bit of an unorthodox introduction to the singing group.
Soon after she was hired, the omicron variant of the coronavirus became the dominant strain of the virus circulating in the country. As it overwhelmed Maryland's public health infrastructure, Ackerman held rehearsals over Zoom.
She'd introduce music by playing songs on the piano she had at home, and when people sang along, they'd keep their microphones muted.
After playing the last bars of a piece, Ackerman would ask chorale members if they wanted to rehearse the song again, or if they were OK to move on. They'd answer with a thumbs up or thumbs down.
"We made it work," Ackerman said in a phone interview earlier this month. "But we are certainly thrilled to be back together in-person, singing as choral music was intended to be sung."
The ongoing season is the first Ackerman and the chorale have spent entirely together in-person. She's now helping the group prepare for its first holiday concert in two years, which will be performed on Dec. 4 and 5 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in downtown Frederick.
Chorale members are excited to bring music back to the Frederick community this year, Ackerman said. The concert, "Stories in Song: A Frederick Chorale Christmas," will be free to all who would like to attend.
When selecting songs for the concert, Ackerman took the lead from the group's 51 members. She asked them to send her pieces of holiday music they have sung that have been meaningful to them.
The concert will open with the song "Welcome Here," a bright and lively piece that the chorale has sung for years. One chorale member loves it so much, she included it in her wedding reception.
In the concert's program, singers will share the reason why they suggested certain songs to the music director.
"It's their stories that guide the flow of the concert," Ackerman said.
Before joining the chorale, Ackerman — who lives in Baltimore, but is from Phoenix, Arizona — spent seven years of active duty service in the military, singing with the United States Army Field Band Soldiers' Chorus.
In 2020, she decided she wanted to pursue conducting and performing outside of the military. She left the Army in February, and "we all know what happened in March," she said.
Admittedly, it wasn't the best time for a career change, she acknowledged with a laugh. "But it certainly led me to the Frederick Chorale."
Besides directing the Frederick Chorale, Ackerman also directs the American Military Spouses Choir, which is based in Washington, D.C., and the Patterson Park Community Chorus in Baltimore.
Ackerman, who grew up singing in church, has long been acquainted with the magic of choral music. Though she went to college thinking that she would become a veterinarian, she later switched to a music degree.
"Why not give a go at what I love, what makes my heart beat?" she remembers thinking.
Singing is universal, Ackerman said. Everybody does it, well or not, even if their stage is just the shower or their car. But when it is done in community, when people use their bodies as the sole instrument for making music, and do it in harmony with others — what results, she said, is truly a gift.
"It's just beautiful," she said. "There's nothing else like it."
Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter @24_angier.
Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter @24_angier.
