GV chorus director ‘a delight to work with’

A lifetime love of music began with a button accordion, said Marge Spiering, the new director of more than 95 voices in the Green Valley Community Chorus.

Spiering, a Wisconsin native who spends winters in Green Valley, said her family’s passion for music inspired her at a young age. Her grandfather played the violin and her grandmother gave piano lessons, though it was her father’s accordion that first piqued her interest.

“I remember when I was very young, before grade school, picking that thing up and trying to play it,” she said.

In high school, Spiering discovered that accordion lessons were a “good way to get out of doing the dishes,” and at 16 found herself playing with a popular local dance band.

“By that time I was hooked — I knew that I had to have music in my life,” she said.

Spiering taught music to junior high and high school students in Woodruff, Wis., for more than 30 years, and after retiring in 1999, moved with her husband Harry to Green Valley. Spiering soon joined the Green Valley Community Chorus, where she has been assistant choral director for the past four years and was recently appointed director.

“I never really intended to continue teaching music after I retired, but it’s funny how your life keeps going on the same track,” she said. The GVCC was begun 35 years ago and has more than 95 auditioned members. Two concerts are presented each year, in the spring and in the fall.

Directing that many people is a big job, said Spiering, “but it’s not hard because everyone wants to learn, all the chorus members are wonderful.”

“Marge is doing a fabulous job,” said Lu Voss, president emeritus of the chorus. “She’s brought a new energy and a very positive attitude to the chorus. She’s just a delight to work with.”

Spiering is also a busy woman.

When she’s not directing the GVCC or playing golf (her other passion, she says) she is directing the choir and music of Our Lady in the Valley Catholic Church in Green Valley; during the summers, she is a piano accompanist, cantor, and organist at her parish in Wisconsin.

Spiering says she’s excited about the upcoming concert, “I Hear America Singing,” which will feature music by American composers.

There will be several spirituals and patriotic songs, she says, and the concert will be dedicated to those in the Armed Services.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726