Downtown duet: Fine wine complements fine music of Stambaugh Chorus

By Sean Barron

YOUNGSTOWN — Like a fine wine, a finely tuned choral group truly can get better with age.

To help in that effort, though, money is needed, and those with a musical background are often encouraged to join and add their talents.

Raising money for the Stambaugh Chorus while promoting the downtown’s arts and cultural offerings was the main idea behind Sunday’s wine-tasting event at the Rosetta Stone Cafe, 110 W. Federal St.

Dozens of people such as Chris Travers and Atty. Patti Dougan paid $15 each to attend the three-hour fundraiser for the 8-year-old musical group, which until about three years ago was known as the Youngstown Symphony Chorus.

“Youngstown used to be the center between Cleveland and Pittsburgh due to the symphony,” said Dougan, a lawyer with Community Legal Aid Services. “Even though the city is shrinking, it has a gem of a chorus.”

“It’s nice to spend a Sunday afternoon supporting Youngstown and the arts,” added Travers, Dougan’s husband.

The Youngstown couple said they feel the city has more cultural events than most cities its size and added that they are happy to see downtown continuing to rebuild.

For Dr. Barb Modic of Columbiana, being an eight-year member of the chorus provides a positive outlet for her sometimes hectic position in internal medicine at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

“It lets me be [more a] part of the community,” Modic explained. “The chorus is an integral part of downtown.”

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.