By Weston Berg
Staff Reporter
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The Evergreen Chorus will turn back the clock this weekend to a time when families huddled around the radio for weekly broadcasts and Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday dominated the airwaves.
      "I Believe in Music" - the annual performance of the local 50-member, all-female a capella group will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the M. Clifford Middle School, Lake Katrine and Oct. 29 at the Wappingers Junior High School on Middlebush Road in Wappingers. Both performances are at 3 p.m.
      Hosted by radio personality 'Joe Daily, the Chorus will take audiences on a musical journey from the 1940s to present, exploring everything from jazz to Broadway songs to old Disney favorites, and including classic numbers from favorites such as Frank Sinatra and Mac Davis.
      Original skits and short comedic vignettes written by choral members Sue Koppenhaver and Eileen Manning are sure to entertain as well, paying homage to old radio programs such as the Lone Ranger. The Hudson Valley Youth Chorale, composed of local third through eighth-graders, is also scheduled to perform showtunes.
      For 42 years the Evergreen Chorus has united women of all ages and backgrounds possessing a common love for singing and a capella music. Based in Poughkeepsie and drawing members from Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange Counties, the group is an award-winning chapter of Sweet Adelines International, a highly respected worldwide not-for-profit organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances.
      The chorus sings for private and public events throughout the Hudson Valley, including promotions on 92.1 radio and at the Renegades baseball games. For the past two years, the Evergreen Chorus has also sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden for the Lady Liberty basketball games. Together with 15 other Sweet Adelines chapters in the region, the Chorus also competes annually in Philadelphia, in which it consistently places in the top ten.
      Mickey Fraher works at the Beekman Library and has been with the chorus since 1993 when she spotted an ad in the newspaper seeking vocalists. She says singing with the group has grown into a huge passion for her and that the group is always looking for new mem- bers.
      "It becomes a way of life for you," said Fraher. "You make lifelong friends as well. It's like a family." New members are required to audition, but, according to Cary Kruzansky, a 10-year veteran of Evergreen and a 27-year veteran of Sweet Adelines, most of the vocalists in the group aren't professionals.
      "As long as you can carry a tune and hold your own part, you can join our group," she said, adding that introductory lessons are given for new members.
      Practices are held 7 - 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday evening at the fellowship hall of the Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church under the direction of Carole Argulewicz who has been involved with the group for 25 years.
      "It's sort of like a big family. It's sort of like everyone's represented," said Kruzansky. "Daughters, moms, grandmas ... everyone supports one another with everything that they do."
      Barbara Mika, a LaGrange resident who will have been with the Chorus two years this December, said the decision to join was one that changed her life.
      "You rarely have an oppoiju- nity to be involved in something with so many people from so m^ny different backgrounds. But they welcome folks as if you've been a friend forever," said Mika.
      She described herself as having been an Evergreen "groupie" for 14 years, having had friends in the group long before building up the courage to audition. According to Mika, her first time hearing the Chorus was an enormous surprise that shattered hdr preconceptions about what a capella singing was all about.
      " I thought, barbershop music, it's not my kind of music. But I was really surprised it wasn't what I expected," said Mika. "It's not just barbershop. It's Broadway music, jazz, contem- porary, and a lot more."
      Despite not having sung since high school, she said the group was incredibly supportive of her through the audition process.
      " It makes me feel very alive. It's sort of a natural high I get from singing with the chorus."
      " After two hours of practice you'd think you'd be exhausted and tired and just had enough. But I'm energized, and I can't sleep. So afterwards a group of us go to the Palace Diner every week and try to unwind."
      This winter, the Chorus will be looking for new members through its Holiday Harmony program. The event will invite women 16 and up who love to sing and want to find out what singing Barbershop harmony is all about. Attendees receive private vocal instruction, sheet music, learning tapes, and will rehearse through November, culminating in a public performance for friends and family in December.
      " It's so exciting. The camaraderie, the friendships, These are really a remarkable group of women and we all come together," said Mika.
      " I wish I had done it a long time ago. If only I had gotten over the butterflies of joining."
      Ticket prices for "I Believe in Music" are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and free for children under 12. Group rates are available and tickets can also be purchased at the door. To reserve tickets calf 845-691-6912. For more information visit www.evergreenchorus.com.