Up Close and Personal With HTSS Director C" Culpepper

For “C” Culpepper, director of the Herndon Towne Square Singers (HTSS), her love of music started as a child, and by the time she entered Ithaca College, she was set on getting a degree in music education.

After graduation “C”she taught chorus and general music to elementary school students. “I loved the choir moments more than the general music moments,” she says, chuckling. “I really enjoyed seeing the kids come alive on stage when they had an audience.”

Fast forward a few years, and “C” continued to hone her directorial and music skills while leading a children’s choir at Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon and singing in the alto section of the HTSS. When then-HTSS-director Harlon Reece asked her to become the assistant director, she leapt at the chance. So when the job of HTSS opened up, “I looked at taking the directorial role as an additional opportunity,” she says.

Asked about her favorite part of the HTSS directorial position, “C” pauses a moment before prefacing her answer with, “This is going to sound weird. It’s those times when I’m up there [in front of the group] and it all falls apart and we all burst into laughter. We’re laughing at ourselves.”

That same evening at rehearsal, the singing falls apart on a run through of “Snow,” and everyone cracks up. “That’s what I was talking about earlier,” “C” says, with a nod in my direction.

She also counts as a favorite the opposite extreme, “It’s when we get to the end of a song, say, and it all comes together and feels just right.” But she’s considerably less cheerful about “overseeing all the details and the whack-a-mole parts.”

Selecting the music for each show is always a director’s pleasure, but “C’s” thought processes are sometimes a little bit different than the average bear. For instance, her inspiration for any given show starts with an imagined video image. “I’ll be a home singing or humming,” explains “C,” “and an image just pops into my head.”

Thus it was that last spring she envisioned the group singing “The Little Mermaid,” and the show took off from there. For the Christmas show, she was inspired by “Charlie Brown’s Christmas.” The result is we’re working on “Lights, Camera, Christmas,” a show featuring holiday music from television and the movies. And for the upcoming spring show, dual images fought for supremacy: the Singers in Western garb and the Singers in hippie attire. Spoiler alert: tie-dyed shirts and peace and love came out on top.

As director, “C” doesn’t get to sing with the group much anymore, but she’s had no trouble cultivating other activities to satisfy her inner ham. She helped create and enjoys performing at Open Mic and More at ArtSpace Herndon. She also sings with the Folk Club of Reston and is part of the trio Dumb Muscle and the Divas, which performs at the Folk Club and ArtSpace. And, she adds, “I sing in the car.” 

Returning to “C’s” early career comments about how much she enjoyed seeing the children in her choir come alive on stage when they had an audience, it would be fair to say that not much has changed in that regard. Today, the “children” in “C’s” choir are a bit older and, in some cases, grayer, but the excitement of performing is every bit as keenly felt and so, too, is “C’s” enjoyment.

“Light, Camera, Christmas” will be performed at ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center Street in Herndon on Saturday, December 7th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. This is a new venue for the Singers and seating capacity is limited to 72 seats, so sell-out crowds are expected.

Tickets for “Lights, Camera, Christmas” are available at the Herndon Community Center on Ferndale Avenue or by calling (703) 787-7300. Unsold tickets, if any, will be available at the door on the day of the performance. The price is $12.