"To enrich the lives of our singers, provide the community with a variety of music, and to help foster a love for music in our youth."
We proudly offer performance opportunities to young singers and musicians to help them cultivate their talents. We are always enthusiastic about staging joint concerts and collaborative appearances with:
The Chorale frequently collaborates with local civic groups to perform free community concerts. Notable appearances include the VFW Memorial Day ceremony and the Valor Awards Banquet.
As scheduling permits, we bring the joy of music directly to local retirement and elder care facilities through free outreach performances.
Founding Director, 1953 – 1957
Dick March, our founding director, had a dream to start a group of choral singers from the Warrenton area. He was a member of the Warrenton Baptist Church, and had a vision of a community choir to perform Christmas songs together during the Christmas season. So, he invited several members from local church choirs to unite and sing together and formed what is now the Warrenton Chorale.
Artistic Director, 1957 – 1992
Barbara attended Smith College and the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a master's degree in zoology and met her future husband, Dr. Henry Wade Stinson. Barbara was a talented guitarist and had an alto voice. She loved both sacred and folk music, compiling a repertoire of folk songs. During the 1940s, she wrote and hosted her own television show, "Lady of the Mountain," co-starring Tommy Sands, hosted two musical programs for radio audiences, recorded collections of folk music songs and guest starred on early television shows for young people.
She shared her musical gifts with the Warrenton Presbyterian Church, directed the adult and children's choirs, and founded and directed the handbell choir. She founded and directed the Fauquier County Public Library children's story hour. She worked as an elementary school music teacher and taught in both public and private schools throughout Fauquier County.
Artistic Director, 1993 – 2011
As a high school student in Connecticut, Steve took music classes and joined a community group in which he played saxophone and sang. He holds a bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from Florida State University. He taught for 10 years at C. Hunter Ritchie Elementary School.
He directed numerous church choirs, including Culpeper Presbyterian for 15 years, and served as the youth choir director at Warrenton United Methodist for 10 years. Steve began singing with the chorale in the 1980s. He directed the youth chorale for four years before taking over as adult chorale director from Barbara Stinson.
Artistic Director, 2013 | Associate Director, 2011 – 2014
Gretchen graciously filled in as our Acting Director for our Spring 2011 Concert and continued as an Associate Director for several years. She was a retired music educator including 24 years as high school choral director in Fauquier County. She also served as the Director of Music at Bethel United Methodist Church.
Gretchen earned a B.A. in vocal music from Emory & Henry College and with more than thirty hours of advanced credit in music. An Excellence in Teaching grant made possible a life-changing experience at the VoiceCare Network where vocal health is the focus.
Artistic Director, 2013 – 2018, 2021 – 2023
John holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from Ithaca College and a Master of Music Degree from Manhattan School of Music. His Doctoral Studies took place at St. John’s University in New York where he was awarded a Professional Diploma in Educational Administration, Curricular Design and Supervision with academic honors. John spent many years as a choral conductor and festival adjudicator for high school and college choral festivals throughout the Northeast.
He was Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities of the College of Southern Maryland until his retirement. He was the director of the Acapella Vocal Ensemble – AVE- in La Plata, MD, as well as the Director of Music Ministry at All Saints Lutheran Church in Bowie, MD.
Artistic Director, 2019 – 2020
Mary came to the Chorale after 30 years in the classroom, most recently teaching high school choir in Fairfax County. She earned degrees in both Music/Choral Conducting and in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and received an MA in Music: Vocal Performance from George Mason University in Fairfax.
Mary enjoyed singing her whole life. Highlights include singing for Paul Salamunovich, Norman Scribner and Marvin Hamlisch at beautiful venues like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. As a soloist, Mary enjoyed singing abroad in Santiago, Chile and Bonn, Germany as well as in both her home state, California and her adopted home, Virginia. As a choir director/musical theater director/producer Mary found her true passion.
Handbell Director, 2003 – 2019
Bob directed the Warrenton Chorale Handbell Choir since 2003. A career electrical engineer, Bob has a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont. He also has played the euphonium and began directing the handbell choir at Our Saviour Lutheran Church (OSLC) in 1997. The OSLC handbell choir traveled to Germany in the summer of 2006 and played a concert at the Luther Church in Solingen, Germany.
Bob holds a certification as Handbell Choir Director by the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR). In addition to being a member of the AGEHR, he is an active member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
The Warrenton Chorale was established in 1953 by Dick March, who invited choir members from local churches to join him in forming a community ensemble dedicated to performing songs of the Christmas season.
Several years later, Barbara Stinson took over the group and directed the chorale for thirty-three years, during which time participation grew from twelve singers to over one hundred.
In 1967, Stinson formed the Youth Chorale, originally named the Children’s Choir, to encourage young singers and provide them with the opportunity to perform alongside the adult chorale. During the Christmas programs, the Youth Chorale performed their own independent pieces and collaborated with the adult chorale on combined works. This participation offered a valuable experience for the children, many of whom went on to join the adult ensemble.
In 1974, Stinson formed a handbell choir comprising seven ringers who were also singers in the adult chorale. Over the years, the ensemble grew. The Warrenton Chorale Handbell Ensemble became a popular addition to the concerts, presenting solo pieces and providing accompaniment for adult choral numbers. Directed by Bob Schoenike from 2002 through 2019, the group performed with up to five octaves of handbells and hand chimes. Under Schoenike's direction, the handbell choir performed numerous benefit concerts in support of “Serve Our Wounded Warriors.” Schoenike stepped away from the chorale in 2019; since then, several volunteer singers have continued to play bells during performances.
In 1989, Steve Aiello became the youth chorale director. From 1993 to 2011, Aiello took over as director of the chorale when Stinson stepped down. He introduced a Saturday matinee to the Christmas performances, as well as an annual spring concert. For the 2005 Christmas season, we had the pleasure to sing accompaniment with the Fresta Valley Christian School's string orchestra, led by Donna Waller. In June 2006, the Warrenton Chorale joined the Piedmont Regional Orchestra at the Highland Arts Center for a combined concert.
In the spring of 2011, Aiello stepped down as director. Gretchen Davis, our associate director at the time, stepped in as acting director and led the “Songs of Love” concert at the Airlie Conference Center.
John Maerhofer took on the role of artistic director in August 2013, guiding the ensemble through both its landmark "60th Anniversary Concert" and the subsequent "65th Anniversary Celebration" during the 2018 Christmas season.
Mary DeMarco Roland took over as our artistic director in the spring of 2019, making her debut with the “Of Thee We Sing” concert in May of that year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the chorale suspended performances for several seasons.
In 2020, Maerhofer returned to direct the chorale, leading the group through Christmas of 2023, when he officially retired. During this period, the chorale had the honor of sending a small group of singers to perform Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall in New York City in November 2022.
The current director is Wendy Oesterling, who began her directorship with the spring “Salute to Those Who Serve” concert for a Memorial Day celebration in 2024.
We regularly post upcoming concert alerts, rehearsal changes, and community updates across our digital channels.
