History of the Northern Delaware Oratorio Society
The Northern Delaware Oratorio Society was the predecessor of the Middletown Community Chorus.
NDOS (en-dose) as it is affectionately called by its members and others “in the know” was formed in 1970 by Robert Dilworth, President and Founder of the Dickinson Theatre Organ Society, and a group of singers, several of whom are still associated with the group. The express purpose was to use the Dickinson Kimball Theatre Organ in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. Area church choirs were contacted and nearly 200 singers united to prepare and participate in the grand performance. Conductor Dr. Robert King and organist Stoddard Smith were hired, and the concert was a tremendous success. A spring performance of Brahms’ Reqiuem under the baton of Dr. John H. Duddy was planned, and the long and wonderful history of NDOS began. Each year the NDOS Board of Directors would choose a major work for the spring concert. The annual December performance of Messiah was a standard. Conductors were chosen for each work and then paired with their favorite organists.
As the chorus changed over the years it became a smaller (40-50), consistent, caring, totally dedicated ensemble made up of working and retired visual and performing artists, medical professionals, educators, engineers, business people, homemakers, students, and countless others who love to sing larger scale choral works. Nearly every member of this chorus sang with at least one other local church or community choir as well. The NDOS no-audition policy, begun at the group’s founding, brought in singers who love the art and prepare diligently to present quality, traditional choral music of the highest level.
In 1983 the husband and wife team of Calvin Bourgeault (who had conducted three previous performances) and Sheila Grady Bourgeault was brought on board as permanent artistic directors and conductors. After 35 seasons, Sheila, now Sheila Bourgeault Dowdy, retired as artistic director of NDOS in May 2018. Dr Mark Reagan directed the 2018/2019 season to great acclaim; he resigned in the summer of 2019 after taking a position on the West Coast. Rob Kennan, a former soloist and accompanist for NDOS, became our artistic director in the fall of 2019. We returned to Dickinson High School to perform at the 2019 Dickinson Theater Organ Society’s Holiday Spectacular – 50 years later!
The Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of our Spring 2020 concert, which was to celebrate our 50th year. We reconvened in the fall of 2020 for outside rehearsals that culminated in an also outside concert recording. We continued to meet outside for rehearsals through the spring and fall of 2021, however membership diminished.
In Spring 2022, the NDOS Board decided that the chorus as it stood was no longer viable. After much discussion, the Board decided to “re-boot” the chorus, still as a non-auditioned community group, in the Middletown/Odessa area, under the direction of Rocky Tejada. The board chose Middletown Community Chorus (MCC) as the new name for the group. The summer and fall of 2022 were dedicated to the reorganization and revitalization of the chorus. The response to the reborn chorus was very heartening, with 60-70 singers joining. Rehearsals began in February 2023 and the first concert, Celebration of Music, was performed in May 2023, with the first full season beginning in September 2023. The legal name of the organization was changed in the summer of 2023. NDOS is now no more but lives on in a new form as MCC!