By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Pine Tones is gearing up to bring holiday cheer to the community next month with a 40-year-long tradition.

At its 40th holiday concert, the choir will perform a mix of classical, modern, contemporary, and Christmas favorite tunes on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Church at Ocean Pines on Racetrack Road. Admission is free, and donations are welcome.

Karen Adcock, the choral group’s board treasurer and a member of the production committee, said that this year, in a slight deviation from years past, the group is emphasizing the “family-friendly aspect of music.”

Adcock said that attendees typically do not bring children to see the show. This holiday season, the group’s setlist includes songs like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Run Rudolph Run,” and “Where Are You Christmas” from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” that can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike.

“Bring the whole family,” Adcock urged.

The Pine Tones Chorus boasts around 40 singers and does not require auditions for potential new members. The treasurer said the group’s mission is to “put on a good show and sound good” while enjoying themselves and sharing their love of music with the audience.

“I have been in audition groups where the focus is so heavily on precise accuracy, and no one has any fun,” Adcock noted. “We want everyone to have a good time.”

The festive show will be held closer to home this year at the Community Church at Ocean Pines on Racetrack Road, where the choir’s annual spring concert is also hosted. Previously, the winter show was performed at the Atlantic United Methodist Church in Ocean City, per the original director’s involvement with the church.

Adcock said that a post-show reception was hosted in the site’s hospitality area while the concert was held at the Ocean City church. This year, given a location change and a lack of sizable space, the singing group will hand out goodie bags filled with cookies, and toys for kids, instead of having an after-performance gathering.

“We try to give as much to the audience as we can,” Adcock noted.

Adcock said she hoped the choir’s performance would bring joy to attendees and emphasized the “remarkable” impacts choral music can have.

“It has been proven that choral music has positive neurological effects on the brain and has positive social effects,” she said. “After people listen to a choral concert, blood pressure is lower. We believe it because we feel it ourselves.”

“We are sharing an appreciation for a kind of music that is appealing but that many people may have never heard,” Adcock continued. “We hope it brings people together. In my view, anything that improves access to any kind of culture is beneficial in a community … It’s a way to bring everyone in the community together.”

Adcock’s involvement in the chorus began shortly after she moved to the area in 2009. She took her mom to a Pine Tones concert, and she was “struck by how happy everyone seemed to be” and that “everyone in the group was radiating joy.” As soon as Adcock could, she joined the choir and has remained a member ever since.

“Every single positive thing that has happened to me since moving here can be traced back to my association with the Pines Tones,” she said. “We support each other, and we support the community.”

Doors open at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6. Other setlist additions include “Little Drummer Boy,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” and “Children, Go Where I Send Th