If you’ve listened closely enough over the past few months, you may have heard sweet melodies and voices ring as you pass Northland Pioneer College’s Performing Arts Center on Wednesday nights. They are the practice sessions for the Silver Creek Singers, a group of 63 singers who have come together from throughout the area to form an adult community choir at Northland Pioneer College.
Under the direction of former Snowflake High School Choir Director Mindy Flake and her Co-Director, and former student, Amanda Bailey, the Silver Creek Singers are now set to perform the ensembles they’ve been perfecting all semester. Their spring concert will be held on Monday, May 5, 2025, at the Snowflake High School Auditorium at 7 PM.
This is the third performance for the group, which officially formed last spring. For Flake, the group has been “the best-kept secret in the mountains, and it’s time to let the secret out,” she said. Flake attended Brigham Young University (BYU) for her music education, and when she and her husband moved to Snowflake in 2000, she began teaching choir at Snowflake High School. After 21 years of teaching, she retired and began privately teaching piano and voice. “But the choir itch just wouldn’t go away,” she said. And so, the idea to start up the Silver Creek Singers was born. Amanda Bailey was one of Flake’s first students in the high school choir and, like Flake, went on to BYU to earn her degree in music education. She and her husband now live in Show Low, and she came on board to co-direct the group.
In the spring of 2024, under the sponsorship of NPC, the choir hosted its first round of auditions and brought on 55 male and female singers. The group has now grown to 63 vocalists, ranging in age from 16 to mid-70s. “It’s a very diverse and talented group,” said Flake. “They are so good. We’ve been selective in the quality of our members. The group is very well balanced, with nearly a half-and-half split of male to female vocalists. They can do anything we give them,” she said. “We threw a lot of really hard stuff at them this semester, and we only practice for an hour and a half each week, so to do what they’ve done is impressive.”
The spring concert will be a mixture of performances from different genres, including a cappella, gospel, poetry, and classical pieces by well-known composers. The group’s signature piece is the Tabernacle Choir version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. “It’s a big, fun piece, and something you won’t want to miss,” said Flake.
Tickets for the May 5 performance are $5.00 and can be purchased at the door on the day of, with either cash or Venmo.
The group holds auditions every semester, and those who are in the choir must re-audition every three years. For upcoming audition dates or more information, visit the Silver Creek Singers Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564041314978.
