New a cappella group springs from Hingham 375th celebration

By Glenda Garland

HINGHAM, MA — Hingham has a rich environment for choral music,
and to that mix, add the terrific new a cappella group, The Hingham
Singers.

The Hingham Singers are a dedicated 16-member ensemble that
sings music ranging from traditional Colonial forms to rock and
roll, and are constantly expanding their repertoire. The group
evolved from members of the 375th Anniversary Chorus. The
Anniversary Chorus’s director, Dr. Paul K. Cappers of Hingham,
relied on these singers to anchor the Anniversary Chorus. “If we
had a small group of people who knew what they were doing,” he
said, “the mission couldn’t fail.”

The mission succeeded. It succeeded so well, in fact that it
left some wanting more.

Ron Johnson of Hingham, a bass now with The Hingham Singers,
said, “After all the performances for the 375th Anniversary were
over, Tom Murphy, who’s a tenor, said, ‘This can’t be it.’”

“We were really having fun,” Linda Luke, an alto, said.

Cappers agreed to start a small, audition-only group, and has
the résumé to make it a really good one. Cappers may be best known
in Hingham from his 17 years as High School Choral Director and
Music Department Head, but retirement from that position hasn’t
slowed him down. He is the music director of the Massasoit Senior
Orchestra, a private studio voice teacher, a cellist with the
Southeastern Philharmonic Orchestra, a budding amateur carpenter,
and a folk musician in the professional trio, Bartholomew, Cappers,
and Waynen.

Johnson said that when his son, who had Cappers in high school,
heard Johnson wanted to audition for the group, said, “You’re going
to have a tryout with Dr. Cappers? If you don’t make it, don’t feel
bad. He’s tough.”