Chorale director to retire after Sunday performance
LANCASTER – Sunday will mark the end of Lancaster Chorale artistic director Robert Trocchia's 28-year career with the organization.
He will retire following the 4 p.m. performance of "Alleluia ad Infinitum: Songs of Joy Ancient and Modern" at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church.
"I've done all I can do, and I've been blessed with health so that I've been able to sustain it for a long period of time," Trocchia said. "And we have made progress, and I'm pleased with that."
Trocchia, a former music teacher at Fairfield Union and Ohio University-Lancaster, has been with the chorale for 28 years.
"The chorale started the year before that," the 81-year-old said. "And then they had some difficulty. The guy had health problems and didn't finish the year. So the board had a search, and I was fortunate. I was a local person. I think I probably was a ringer because there were some people more qualified than I was at that time. But they wanted a local person and I got the job."
The chorale was a community group then, but Trocchia said the 32-voice unit is now a professional organization. It performs several times a year and has worked with the Lancaster Festival. About half the chorale's members are local.
Capital University choral program director Lynda Hasseler will conduct Sunday's performance and is one of two candidates to replace Trocchia. The other candidate is Stephen Caracciolo from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Trocchia said the new artistic director will be announced in the middle of May and that he will have a large say in who gets the job.
"I've been meeting with them," he said. "Even though I'm not conducting as much this year, I've worked harder than I've ever worked because it's kind of my job to put this all together. They're both very good and they're both very eager. Both are well-prepared and both have great experience."
Trocchia said he told the chorale board five or six years ago that this day was coming.
"I'm 81, so it's time to slow down a little bit," he said. "I love it still. I still have a passion for it. I just don't have the energy for it."
The Lancaster Chorale plays throughout central Ohio, but Trocchia said he wants the chorale to expand after he leaves.
Though Trocchia was born in Fairfield County, he lived in Brooklyn as a child and became a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and went to games at legendary Ebbets Field. Years later, he would teach music in Bremen to former Ohio State All-American and Philadelphia Eagle Ike Kelley.
"He loved singing and he sang," Trocchia said. "And he was serious about it. So boys saw it was OK to sing."
Trocchia has been married to his wife, Carol, for 60 years. The couple have three children. Upon his retirement, Trocchia said, he will still work in some capacity, including writing.
"I've been a closet writer, and I'll come out of that closet," he said. "I have had some interest from publishers but never pursued it. And I hope to do that if I stay well."
Tickets for Sunday's performance are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and free for students and military in uniform. They are available by calling the chorale office at 740-687-5855 or by emailing tickets@lancasterchorale.com.
jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com
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Twitter: @JeffDBarron