A community choir that has opened the East End's giving season every fall since 1986 marks its 40th year this month on the stage of The Suffolk in downtown Riverhead. The Harvest Gospel 40th Anniversary Concert is Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m.

A choir drawn from across the East End

Harvest Gospel is presented by East End Arts, the arts council based in Riverhead. It is a non-denominational community choir: singers come from towns across the East End, of different ages and backgrounds, and come together each year for a concert that opens the giving season. Organizers invite people of any faith or none to attend.

A tribute to its founder

This year's concert centers on Reverend Maryanne McElroy, Harvest Gospel's founding creative director, who led the choir for 38 years before passing the baton. The current music director is Minister Byron Preston, who first joined Harvest Gospel as its drummer at age 10.

Who joins the choir on stage

Two guest soloists perform with the choir for the anniversary:

  • Pastor David Wright, a Grammy nominee and the son of the late gospel singer and pastor Rev. Timothy Wright.
  • Pastor Bettina Pennon, who has performed at the Grammy Awards, in television productions and off-Broadway.

The East End Disabilities Associates choir will also give a special performance.

Where the ticket money goes

Proceeds from ticket sales go to East End Arts' Francis Ligon Memorial Music Scholarship Fund. The concert is supported in part by the Suffolk County Department of Planning and Development and Discover Long Island.

The venue

The Suffolk is the restored 1933 Art Deco theater at 118 East Main Street in Riverhead. The theater seats audiences at tables, and a ticket reserves a table rather than a specific chair: seats at each table are first come, first served, so arriving early matters for a group that wants to sit together.

How to go

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