In December of 1948, the State College Choral Society was merely a gleam in the eyes of a 35-member Women's Club chorus. Since then, that gleam has developed into more than 50 years of beautiful music.
      The Music Section of the Women’s Club invited men to join them for a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass. Over the years, the chorus has presented an impressive number of full-length classical works. With more than 170 members, the Choral Society is the largest group to perform a classical repertoire in the region. The group seeks to offer singing opportunities and concert experiences to individuals throughout central Pennsylvania. Vocalists from as far away as Kersey and Lewistown gather in State College each Monday night to prepare for winter and spring performances in our community. From 1971 through 2004, the Choral Society sponsored a smaller group of Madrigal Singers who performed a delightful Madrigal dinner each December. This year, SCCS invited a local women's group, Arietta, to come under its auspices to serve a smaller outreach group.
     In 1999, the Choral Society celebrated its 50th Anniversary of joyous performances in State College. In commemoration of the momentous anniversary, a history of SCCS was produced in limited publication and is reprinted here:

State College Choral Society ~ Fifty Years

Madrigal Singers History 

Take time while time is, for time will away.

     When D. Douglas Miller became music director of the State College Choral Society in 1971, the group was struggling to balance their budget by staging a “Walkathon to Bellefonte.” The young director recommended a more musically-appropriate way to raise money: a Madrigal Dinner. He had seen the idea successfully staged in the past, and, as a passionate student of Renaissance music, his enthusiasm for the project resonated with the Board, who were equally impressed with the fiscal possibilities.
     In the fall of 1972, Doug and his wife Grace wrote a script for the event. Auditions were held, and by late September a dozen singers were meeting in one another’s homes to sing sixteenth-century music. The tickets for the first-ever Choral Society Madrigal Dinner sold out within days, and they added a second night. When it also sold out, they added a third, and a tradition was born.
     The first dinners were held in the wood-paneled “coffee shop” of the Nittany Lion Inn. A wonderful stone fireplace served as a backdrop to the singers, who sat at a table on a stage at one end of the “Great Hall.” The new troupe spent hours consulting costume volumes in Pattee Library, doing their best to re-create Elizabethan outfits. At first, tenors and basses were reluctant to wear tights, but all singers have a certain amount of ham in them, and before long, tights were an accepted part of the costume.
     The Dinners moved to the Elks Club after the coffee shop was renovated to a more modern ambience. For the next 20 years, the Dinners were held at the Elks (except for one year when Toftrees was the venue). The atmosphere of the Elks lent itself to a reasonable facsimile of a Renaissance room, and the excellent acoustics enhanced the performance.
     After 22 years of leadership, Doug passed the Madrigal baton to Robert Drafall in 1994, who in turn passed it to Russell Shelley in 1995. Each brought new creative energy to the ensemble singing for which the group is famous. In 2003, Norene Ferris became director, and revitalized the dinners with new scripts, audience involvement, and a high level of musicality.
     Over the years, a number of outstanding instrumentalists added to the variety and quality of the music offered. Toby Carlson and Dorothy Fraser hold the records for playing the most years. 
     In early years, the behind-the-scenes work of decorations, tickets, publicity, etc., was handled by a list of dedicated chairpersons. From 1998 to 2001, the Dinners were blessed to have as manager Beverly (Balger) Sutley; her hard work and long hours ensured the Dinners’ success. Shawn Quinn served as manager in 2002, and Russell Bloom took on the arduous task in 2003 and 2004.
     Of course, the heart of the Madrigal Dinners was the singers. Many gave years of time and talent to make these festive occasions possible. There are many with more than 20 years service, including Evelyn Bartsch, Sigrid Byers, Gregory Lozier, Douglas Miller, Julie Peterson, and Timothy Roberts.