Our History
The Chorus of Kent County has a deep and rich history, and our winter 2026 season kicks off our 45th anniversary!
The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus / The Chorus of Kent County
Our History
Where It All Began - 1981
The story of the Chorus of Kent County began in February 1981, when West Warwick High School music educators Domenic DiOrio and Henry Doiron brought together a group of adults through a community adult education program.
The idea was simple: provide adults in the community with an opportunity to gather once a week in the evening and sing. At that point, there was no Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus, no Board of Directors and no established concert season. It was an adult education program - a group of people coming together simply for the opportunity to make music.
But the singers kept coming back.
What began as an evening class developed into a community of singers, and it soon became apparent that there was both the interest and enthusiasm to continue beyond the adult education program.
Becoming The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus - 1982
By 1982, the group was ready to take the next step.
The singers decided to establish themselves as an independent community chorus. A Board of Directors was formed, incorporation papers were filed, and The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus (PVCC) was established.
This was an important turning point. The adult education program had provided the beginning, but the decision made by those early singers gave the group its own identity and organization.
What had begun simply as an opportunity for adults to gather and sing now had a future of its own.
The Concert Years Begin - 1983
By 1983, The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus had entered the next phase of its development and began its formal concert tradition.
Historical records from that year identify Henry Doiron as Director, Eileen Coyle as accompanist, and Lowy Cagle as President. Surviving materials from the 1983 PVCC season remain part of the Chorus archives today, marking the beginning of a concert history that would continue for decades.
In 1984, Karen Fields became Director, with Eileen Coyle continuing as accompanist and Lowy Cagle serving as President. Brad DeGraide, who would soon become the Chorus's director, was already involved with the organization.
In 1985, Brad DeGraide became Director of The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus. Eileen remained at the piano, providing important musical continuity during these formative years.
Building a Musical Tradition
As PVCC grew, a succession of directors and accompanists helped shape the Chorus and carry its musical tradition from one generation to the next.
During the 1980s, leadership passed from Henry Doiron to Karen Fields and then Brad DeGraide. Eileen Coyle accompanied the Chorus through the majority of those early years, serving alongside several directors before Jacqueline Gourd succeeded her at the piano.
As the Chorus entered the 1990s, Jean Coy, later Jean Grady, took the podium and continued building upon the musical foundation established during the Chorus's first decade.
It was also during this period that Beverly Hopkins became accompanist. Beverly would go on to have an extraordinarily long association with the Chorus, providing musical continuity through years of rehearsals, concerts and changes in leadership.
The next major era began with Brian Hopkins, whose tenure as Musical Director extended through much of the 1990s and 2000s. Together with Beverly Hopkins at the piano for many of those years, he helped guide PVCC through a long period in its history and continued the tradition of spring and holiday concerts that had become central to the organization.
By the early 2010s, another transition in musical leadership was underway. Nicholas Larochebecame Musical Director, bringing a new generation of artistic leadership to the Chorus. During this period, the accompanist role also passed from Beverly Hopkins to Derek Doura and then Stephen Romano. Now, Chika Atkinson has joined us as the next accompanist in a long line of talented pianists.
Through each of these eras, directors and accompanists brought their own talents, personalities and musical perspectives to the Chorus. They selected and taught the music, accompanied countless rehearsals and performances, challenged singers to grow, and helped sustain an organization whose beginnings could be traced back to that adult education program in 1981.
Their collective contribution is an important part of the Chorus's history.
A New Chapter - 2016
After more than three decades as the Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus, 2016 marked another important chapter in the organization's story.
Recognizing an opportunity to build upon the Chorus's strong foundation while looking toward its future, President Julie Roch Winward, Treasurer Mary Jane Langlais and Vice President Gloria Perry, together with Musical Director Nicholas Laroche, began exploring a new direction for the organization.
The result was a new identity - The Chorus of Kent County.
The new name reflected the broader community the Chorus had come to represent while allowing the organization to move forward with renewed energy and purpose.
Although the name changed, the heart of the organization did not.
The singers, musical traditions, friendships and community connections that had defined the Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus were carried forward into the Chorus of Kent County.
It was not a new beginning so much as a new chapter in a story that had begun in 1981.
The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus had built the foundation.
The Chorus of Kent County would carry that legacy forward.
Our Song Continues
Through more than four decades, the organization has continued to evolve:
- 1981 - A group of adults gathered through a West Warwick adult education program simply to sing.
- 1982 - Those singers established an independent organization, the Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus.
- 1983 - The Chorus began the formal concert tradition that would become central to its identity.
- 2016 - The Pawtuxet Valley Community Chorus entered a new chapter, becoming The Chorus of Kent County and carrying its musical legacy forward under a new identity.
And today, that story continues.
As we celebrate our 45th anniversary, we honor Domenic DiOrio and Henry Doiron and those first singers who started it all. We honor the directors and accompanists who shaped the music; the presidents, Board members and volunteers who kept the organization moving forward; and the hundreds of singers who have shared their voices with our community.
More than 700 singers have been part of that story, each adding his or her voice to the generations that came before and those that followed.
We remember those who are no longer with us and whose contributions remain part of our history.
We celebrate those who carry the tradition today.
And we look forward to those who have not yet walked through our doors but who will someday add their voices to the story.
What began in 1981 with a group of adults gathering one evening a week to sing has endured for 45 years.
The name has changed.
The leadership has changed.
Generations of singers have come and gone.
But the music has continued.
Our Song Continues - 45 Years in Harmony.