THE VALLEY CHORUS - OUR TEAM

Clara Belle Palmer DeLill recently completed her third season as director of the Valley Chorus. her forty year association with valley chorus started in 1966 as a singer when she was a junior in Waverly High School. belle graduated from Waverly high school in 1967. belle held the demanding position of accompanist for the Valley Chorus from 1984 through 2003 when she agreed to accept the challenge of becoming our new director.

Belle is a lifelong Valley resident who began her musical training at the tender age of three with piano lessons. She began her career as an accompanist for her school's chorus at age seven. Organ lessons came next at age eight, with her vocal training beginning at 10 years of age. Belle was appointed organist at Waverly Methodist Church when she was 14. It was convenient that she lived just across the street in the Palmer House, as she was still a few years away from being able to obtain her driver's license.

Her formal music education was coursework for select students in the accelerated Bachelor of Music Program at Oberlin College of Music in Ohio following her junior year in High School. Belle earned her degrees in Education and Church Music, specializing in Organ and Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, New Jersey. Her graduate work was done at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York. She has been a private organ, piano, and voice instructor for 35 years. Many of her former students are well-known, some going on to their own distinguished musical careers.

     For the past 28 years, she has been the organist and choir director at Sayre Presbyterian Church, while prior to that she held the same position at Church of the Redeemer in Sayre. She worked for several years as accompanist for the Waverly Schools choral program and has provided the music for countless weddings, funerals, and many special events.

     Working with her husband, Bob, in their Elmira ice cream store for 15 years, Belle developed a talent for making wax display sundaes. She now makes them as candles, and along with her many other unique candle creations, markets them across the United States through candle show and Internet sales. Be sure to check out Belle's website at: http://www.delightfulcandledesigns.com

     The Valley Chorus extends our SINCERE thanks to Belle for taking time out of her very busy schedule to share her talents AND LOVE OF MUSIC with ALL OF us.

AT THE 1719 ARP SCHNITGER ORGAN
GROTE OF ST. MICHAELSKERK - ZWOLLE, HOLLAND

      LARRY HOEY HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE VALLEY CHORUS OVER THE PAST 27 YEARS AS A GUEST ACCOMPANIST PRIOR TO BECOMING OUR OFFICIAL ACCOMPANIST IN 2004. LARRY IS A PASSIONATE, GIFTED, AND UNIQUE MUSICIAN WHOSE eclectic AND diverse MUSICAL disciplines DELIGHTS AUDIENCES.

     AS A YOUTH, LARRY STUDIED PIANO WITH ERBA DUNNE of Sayre. BY 3rd grade he WAS accompanying his elementary SCHOOL music teacher on the piano while she taught music classes. Larry BEGAN playing the PIPE organ for church services at the age of 10 and has been performing on the bench ever since. In 7th grade, LARRY WAS appointed pianist OF HIS SENIOR High School Jazz Band, a position PREVIOUSLY awarded ONLY to upper classmen. DURING his college years, LARRY toured the college and Hullabaloo circuits and PERFORMED throughout Europe as keyboard player with the 70's rock group, "Our Generation".

     A 1969 graduate of Athens High School, Larry studied organ performance at Nyack College where he SERVED AS COLLEGE CHAPEL ORGANIST. HIS graduate work in classical organ performance and music literature was at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. LARRY RESIDED IN ROCHESTER FOR SEVEN YEARS AND ALSO studied engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. WHILE IN ROCHESTER, LARRY Was Organist and Choral Director AT Christ Lutheran Church, and chapel organist at Colgate Rochester crozer divinity school. LARRY participated in Master Classes and private studies with renowned VIRTUOSO concert organist, Virgil Fox, AND studied improvisation IN THE NETHERLANDS with Klaas Bolt at the International Academy for Organists IN HAARLEM, Holland. LARRY coached through 1992 with his close friend and TALENTED colleague, Royal Dwight Jennings.

     For eleven years, Larry SERVED AS Principal Organist at Saint Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Mother Church of the 11 County Diocese of Scranton. During his TENURE in Scranton, Larry performed countless musical celebrations AND was FEATURED SOLO organ recitalist for the Robert Dale Chorale Bach Festival; guest accompanist for Dr. James Litton and the internationally renowned American Boys Choir from Princeton, and guest accompanist for the Westminster Concert Choir of Rider University. LARRY AND HIS WIFE KAREN RESIDE IN SAYRE WHERE HE SERVES AS ORGANIST FOR SAINT JOHN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. The Valley Chorus is indeed grateful to have this very capable musician serving AS OUR accompanist.