Because of a group of singers bonding over music together in the 1970s, the Friends of Music formed before changing their name to Palouse Choral Society in 2011, creating an outlet for singers in the Palouse.

Miranda Kling, WSU animal diagnostic lab microbiologist, found her outlet in music back in her younger years, singing for her high school choir as well as WSU’s concert choir, she said.

After graduating from WSU in 2019 she decided to audition for the Palouse Choral Society, a choir that allows anyone within the greater Palouse area to audition and be involved, Kling said.

“It includes three different choirs — the Chorale, which is the main body, it’s the largest group of the choir,” Kling said. “The Chamber, which is a select few people who auditioned for that additional choir to sing more and then there’s also a children’s choir, which we call Treble choir.”

Because the Palouse Choral Society gathers individuals from all over the community, there are around 60 members of the group and their ages range all over the board, Kling said.

“I’m one of the youngest members at 23 and then it ranges all the way up to people who are in retirement, if I had to guess there’s probably members that are in their 70s and 80s,” Kling said. “But we all have one thing in common and that’s that we love to sing.”

Matthew Myers, Choral Society artistic director and WSU choral music education assistant professor, finds his life surrounded by music, he said.

“As much as I love my job at WSU and love working with young singers, I also think that singing is an activity that really should be cultivated for your entire lifetime,” Myers said. “So the Palouse Choral Society has some younger singers, some retired singers, just people who love to sing, who are doing it regardless of what they’ve chosen as their career path.”

Alongside fueling his fire for music and conducting, Myers loves the fact that the Palouse Choral Society is able to build so many connections within the surrounding area, he said.

“The Choral Society really doesn’t just serve Pullman, it serves our whole region. We have singers from Moscow, Lewiston and Clarkston, from Palouse and Troy,” Myers said. “So it’s not only just building community within our city, but with our wider region. It’s a really nice way to feel connected on a wider level.”

The Choral Society has its very first concert of the season on Sunday, October 30 at 4:00 pm in the Moscow High School, Kling said. The concert is called, “Oh, What a Fright!” in honor of Halloween. 

“If you’re a person who loves to sing, it’s not too late to find a place for you to sing here in this community. So you can visit palousecoralsociety.org for more information about getting involved,” Myers said.