By Lynn Petry
lynn.petry@newsday.com
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Huntington Men’s Chorus performed at The Tilles Center in 1995, sharing the stage with the Glenn Miller Band. The chorus put together a special program that night, featuring songs that were famous during the war years, and at the conclusion of the evening they presented a medley of armed services songs and asked the members of the audience who where in those ranks to stand up.
“It was a touching and memorable moment,” says Gabe Abbinanti a member of the chorus for more than 15 years, “it was one of our many highlights,” he says,“along with singing at Carnegie Hall.”
The chorus, modeled along the lines of the acclaimed University Glee Club in New York City, is 59 years strong and made up of local vocalists who volunteer their time and talent to make up a group of one voice with more than 85 members.
Tomorrow, the all-male chorus performs their Fall/Winter Holiday Concert featuring the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” As an added attraction, the Huntington High School Chorus will join them on this number and then perform a short program of their own.
Show time is 8 p.m. at Huntington High School on Oakwood and McKay Roads. Along with holiday music, the chorus will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the musical “West Side Story” by performing such favorites as “Maria,” and “Somewhere.”
For tickets, contact the Huntington Arts Council at 213 Main St. in Huntington at 631-271-8423 or Abbinanti, a member of the board of directors for the chorus at 516-799-4705. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students. If you want to attend the concert, the Arts Council will be open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. tomorrow for ticket sales.
The chorus also performs at the Huntington Summer Arts Festival each year at Heckscher Park, for details logon to www.huntingtonarts.org or www.huntingtonmenschorus.com.