A Gem To Benefit Battered Women

Four faculty members of the Westminster Choir College will perform this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Chatham United Methodist Church in the Songs of the Season concert.

The concert is free, but there will be a free-will donation, all of which will go to the Jersey Battered Women's Service.

Vocalist Denise Mihalik chose the organization when she began putting together the annual concert four years ago. "I noticed a lot of people around me having issues with some form of domestic violence," Mihalik said, "be it emotional or physical. So, when I was searching for a cause the first year I did this, I thought [Jersey Battered Women's Service] was a good one."

Over the past four years, Mihalik has worked with co-sponsors Chatham United Methodist Church and Green Village United Methodist Church to put on this show during the holiday season. It hasn't been as well-attended as they might hope, so this year they are moving the show from its usual Sunday afternoon to Saturday evening this year in the hope that more people will come out for dinner and a show and "make an evening of it," said Richard Knox, the senior pastor at Chatham UMC.

The music at the concert will be, as the name implies, a blend of songs of the holiday season. There will be music to celebrate Hanukah and Christmas as well as secular holiday songs. "I try to use unique arrangements," said Mihalik. "Not the same thing they play on the radio over and over again."

But there will be at least one familiar arrangement. When pianist Kathy Shanklin volunteered to be part of the first concert, she made only one request: to perform "White Christmas." Though Mihalik says she "isn't a sing-a-long person" while programming a concert, she agreed to do "White Christmas" as a sing-a-long at the end of the concert, a tradition that stuck, quite by accident.

Mihalik says she has no difficulty getting people to perform with her for this concert, despite the commute from Princeton and the fact that they volunteer their time. "These are people who eat from their performances," said Knox. "But they volunteer as she asks."

This year, Mihalik has recruited three of her colleagues to join her on stage: Shanklin is returning on piano; Danielle Sinclair, vocalist; and Carol Redfield Vizzini, cellist. "They were very happy to jump on board," said Mihalik. "Especially when they found out the cause."

According to their website, the mission of the Jersey Battered Women's Service is "the prevention of domestic violence through the protection and empowerment of the victim, the rehabilitation of family members, the advocacy of social reform to prevent partner violence, and the education of the public about domestic violence and its consequences." Their services include a 24-hour hotline, counseling, safe houses, batterer's intervention, life skills education, vocational training and youth prevention programs. More information about the Jersey Battered Women's Service is available on their website, www.jbws.org.

"This is a gem of a concert," said Mihalik. "I want everyone to be able to attend, even if they walk in from the street without a place to sleep that night, and be blessed by the music."