Italy concert tour uplifts St. Charles Singers before 42nd season
There’s a reason the St. Charles Singers choral group can boast of international prowess far beyond its home base of Baker United Methodist Church in St. Charles.
In its 42 years of existence, this group of 32 to 38 elite singers first known as the Mostly Madrigal Singers, have gone on six international tours — performing in France twice, England, Spain, Portugal and, most recently, Italy.
Returning from 12 days and seven concerts in Italy, one would expect the St. Charles Singers to showcase all of the new music the group learned, or some new twists on some of its evangelical classics.
St. Charles Singers founder and music director Jeff Hunt sees the trip as much deeper than the music, sounding more like a baseball coach talking about how a long road trip brought his team together tighter.
“Many good things arise from a tour such as this, and many of those things will benefit the choir and our audiences for years to come,” Hunt said. “Spending 12 days together strengthens the bonds we share together as an ensemble.”
On an international trip, the Singers are able to “create and share music in a way that is very different from a concert in a season,” Hunt added. “You get a chance to really get to know the music, and give it a chance to really take life.”
Audiences who have become accustomed to the quality of the St. Charles Singers may not pick up those nuances immediately, but some of the benefits of the Italy tour will be at work when the group opens its 41st season with “North American Mosaic,” a celebration of the country’s 250 years. The opening concerts are Oct. 3-4 at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown St. Charles.
“The detail in expression and connection we were able to experience with this music will hopefully be useful in music we present in our upcoming season,” Hunt said.
A recording of the Italy trip music, titled “Sacred Spaces,” will be available in the 2027-28 season. That recording will bring to life the Singers’ performances in Italy, among them, at La Chiesa Evangelica Metodista, St. Peter’s in the Vatican, the Basilica di San Lorenzo Damaso, the Basilica of St. Anthony, and La Chiesa San Francesco Grande.
“The acoustics in all of the ancient churches were amazing,” Hunt notes. “We had wonderful audiences, and singing at the Vatican was especially meaningful.”
The meaning and emotional lift the group provides is what first brought St. Charles Singers to the attention of Dr. John Mason, who has been on the group’s board of directors for five years and its president the past five months.
In his view, the upcoming season will be another wonderful way to spend time at Baker United Methodist, after being exposed to the holiday concerts through the Hunt family in the Singers’ early years.
“When I was approached to become a board member, I thought it would be interesting to understand the arts in the community, because health care and social services have been a primary focus,” said Mason, a St. Charles dentist by trade. “I like to say I am a ‘groupie’ now.”
In addition to attending concerts, Mason also has enjoyed witnessing the educational programs the Singers offer to area high school programs.
“The St. Charles Singers and the music they perform reminds me how it speaks to a community of many generations,” he noted. “That being, in our core, music has a place to ground and inspire the human spirit.”
Cleaning our river
If you just walk or bike the trails in our forest preserves near the Fox River, or even paddle a canoe or kayak on the river, you may not always notice the river can use a cleanup along its banks.
The River Corridor Foundation partners with The Conservation Foundation and St. Charles Park District each year to make sure river cleanups unfold across many communities from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19.
In talking to volunteers in the past, it’s amazing what can be found along the river banks and in the river itself — tires, tubing, shopping carts, pieces of building materials — during the “It’s Our Fox River Day” coordinated through the Friends of the Fox River.
In central Kane County, a cleanup effort will start at Ferson Creek Park, off Route 31, in St. Charles with check-in at 8:30 a.m.
Volunteers should wear old clothes, gloves and shoes they don’t mind getting wet, and canoe club members are invited to help out while paddling along the river.
More information and registration is available by contacting Laurel Moad at l.moad@att.net.
Geneva’s Natural Resources Committee is seeking volunteers for a cleanup that will start at 8:30 a.m. at Island Park’s playground. The other location is Fabyan Forest Preserve, with volunteers meeting in the parking lot just south of the Fabyan Windmill.
For other cleanup sites, up and down the Fox River from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Yorkville, go to friendsofthefoxriver.org/its-our-fox-river-day-2/.
Disc dog champs
For my friend Tom Wehrli, the disc dog event Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6, at Nike Park in Naperville will be bittersweet.
The 2026 Ashley Whippet World Championships will mark the 46th year in which Wehrli has organized this skills competition — and it will be his final one, as he steps down from what has been a life’s passion since first discovering his dog was extraordinary at chasing down and snatching a disc out of the air.
The competition, free to spectators, takes place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at Nike Park, located at Mill Street and Diehl Road.
Fancy boards at bazaar
The organizers of the annual Holmstad Bazaar in Batavia always have their thinking caps on about what would stand out — and draw shoppers in — on any given year.
When Covenant Living at the Holmstad stages its 48th annual Holmstad Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, one its residents, David Anderson, is going to get a lot of attention.
Anderson has spent more than a decade shaping the Holmstad community’s wood shop into a hub of craftsmanship, creativity, and camaraderie, event planners said. He has served as manager of the resident-operated wood shop for the past 12 years.
Open to the public, the Bazaar features a wide variety of items including wood and needle crafts, designer knits, plants, quilts, baked goods, and second‑hand treasures such as jewelry, furniture, books, and household items. Select items can be previewed at HolmstadBazaar.com.
But organizers want everyone to know about the debut of the wood shop’s hand‑crafted charcuterie boards made through a “wood weaving” technique.
A press release about the event tells us that “each board appears intricately woven from maple, walnut, and mahogany.”
The event, which draws more than 700 shoppers, raises money for the Holmstad’s Benevolent Care Fund, student scholarships and resident-run programs.
Shop for the schools
In what amounts to a connect-the-dots type of event, Batavia MainStreet has organized a way for shoppers at downtown Batavia businesses to help the city’s schools.
The nonprofit Batavia MainStreet, which pushes downtown initiatives and community events that benefit the businesses, will stage “Shop Local. Support Our Schools” the weekend of Sept. 12-13.
More than 30 businesses will share a portion of qualifying sales to the parent-teacher organizations of six Batavia elementary schools — JB Nelson, Grace McWayne, Louise White, H.C. Storm, Alice Gustafson and Hoover Wood.
Families or individuals who shop or dine in Batavia that weekend during regular business hours are asked to mention their school or PTO when checking out.
Of course, MainStreet officials are hoping those families will spend time at various downtown businesses — and watch for the “Shop Local. Support Our Schools” signs in their windows.
In addition, kids can join in the fun with the School Logo Hunt, searching for their school logo hidden within a store.
More information is available at downtownbatavia.com.
Dave Heun is a freelance columnist based in Geneva, IL. He can be reached at dheun@sbcglobal.net.