This June, the Fox Valley Festival Chorus will be traveling to Italy to sing at an evening Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican as part of a 10-day performance tour in Italy.
“We will be singing Masses at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, and St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice,” Fox Valley Festival Chorus member Bette Weaver said.
The group also will be performing a musical theatre concert in Florence that will include songs from “Les Miserables” and “Phantom of the Opera.”
About 40 choir members of the 65-person chorus will be making the journey as part of the Fox Valley Festival Chorus’ American Celebration of Music tour under the guidance of its director Mary Beth McCarthy.
In the past, the chorus has sung at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City.
Weaver has been to Italy previously as part of a pilgrimage with her church and visited St. Peter’s Cathedral.
“To sing at the Vatican will be one of the highlights of my life — definitely something on my bucket list,” she said. “Where the choir stands at St. Peter’s is right next to the chair of the Pope.”
And although the Pope is not expected to be celebrating Mass that evening, just to be there is “pretty amazing,” Weaver said.
Currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, she said, “Music is one of the things that keeps me going.”
The Fox Valley Festival Chorus has been active in the community since 1955.
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Joining the chorus about five years ago, Fox Valley Festival Chorus President Shireen Bacchetti said, “When we moved to Naperville, I stopped singing for a while and focused on other things until I saw a newspaper ad about the Fox Valley Festival Chorus.”
The group does not require an audition for new members, Bacchetti said, and not everyone in the chorus comes from a serious music background.
“We do take our music seriously and sing difficult pieces,” she added. “But, we also have a lot of fun in the process.”
Some members have an extensive music background, Bacchetti said, while others have only sung with their church choir.
“But, we don’t turn anyone away,” she added.
Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News