50 years later, one final concert for Lafayette Chamber Singers

First assembled in 1972 for front room performances with friends, Lafayette Chamber Singers ending it because, as founder Clayton Lein says, ‘it’s time.’ A Q&A before Sunday's final performance

• Thanks to today’s sponsors The Bindery Artist Studios and LaLa Gallery, presenting the Indiana Makers Market "Spring Pop-Up.” The event features handpicked makers from all over the state to showcase their handmade items for sale in beautiful downtown Lafayette on Saturday, May 11. The event is free to attend, set up between Fifth and Sixth streets on Ferry Street from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

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50 YEARS LATER, ONE FINAL CONCERT FOR LAFAYETTE CHAMBER SINGERS

After more than 50 years in the community, the Lafayette Chamber Singers will perform a final concert Sunday and then say farewell.

Here, Clayton Lein, a founder and artistic director for the ensemble, tells about how he and Nancy Lein, his wife and principal accompanist and chief language consultant, got things started in 1972 after careers brought them to Purdue and where things are ending Sunday.

Clayton Lein (Photo: Lafayette Chamber Singers)

Question: What’s the origin story of Lafayette Chamber Singers? How did you get started? And what made you want to pulling something like the Chamber Singers together?  

Clayton Lein: The Chamber Singers started as a collective effort.  A group of us in the Bach Chorale, all with strong choral backgrounds – mostly from college choirs – wanted to perform music not in the repertoire of the Chorale, so we decided to gather together on our own.  We met in each other’s homes and mostly sang madrigals that were in standard collections for fun.  This was music written for small ensembles – four to a dozen singers – even at the time, and we could comfortably sing in each other’s living rooms. And, no small bonus, it was something my wife and I could do together for fun.

Question: What were the goals in those early years, in terms of recruiting singers, picking programs and finding venues?