Veteran choir director takes Choral Society baton

“One of the joys of my life is directing choir,” says Cathy Gillhouse, the new director of the Mission Valley Choral Society. “I love it.”

She also brings loads of experience to the post previously held by longtime director Christian Bumgarner, who moved to Idaho this spring.

Gillhouse, who lives in Ronan, spent 41 years as a choir director and music teacher in the Mission Valley, first in Charlo and then for more than 36 years in Ronan. Since her retirement 12 years ago, she’s continued to immerse herself in music, as a harpist for the University of Montana School of Music, the annual “Lamb of God” performances and for the Missoula City Band’s 100th anniversary Sousa Concert (she also plays organ and piano).

She directs the Ronan Adult Education Women’s Choir and the Mission Valley Children’s Choir, is piano accompanist for choirs at Ronan High and Middle Schools and Port Polson Players Children’s Theatre, and is a substitute music teacher in Ronan. She frequently appears in Port Polson Players productions, including a leading role in the recent performance of “Steel Magnolias.”

Gillhouse was encouraged to take the Choral Society helm by Bumgarner and accompanist Carla Gallagher. “They cornered me at the district music festival and said, ‘we want you to be the new director,’” she recalls.

She consulted her husband, Jim, and met with board members and president Susan Raub-Fortner before accepting the post.

“Cathy Gillhouse is an excellent choice as Mission Valley Choral Society's new music director,” says Raub-Fortner. “She has 40-plus years as a choir director, has local community connections, and is not put off by working with a non-audition amateur choir.”

In June, Gillhouse was already channeling her enthusiasm into finding music for the choir’s two Christmas concerts, Dec. 16-17 in St. Ignatius and Polson.

“I’ve got all the music lined up – when I have to have 50 copies I really have to be thinking in advance.”

For the December concerts, the choir will perform a mix of sacred Christmas music and more secular, contemporary fare. Weekly practices begin Sept. 21 from 7-9 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Polson.

Closer at hand, the choral society will convene for two practices in August before singing the National Anthem and the Montana State Song for the Lake County Centennial Celebration, noon, Aug. 19 in front of the courthouse. Practices for the Centennial performance are at 3 p.m. Aug. 13 and 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Fellowship Hall.

Gillhouse hopes members of the Ronan Adult Education Women’s Choir, as well as some of her former students will opt to add their voices to the Mission Valley Choral Society. She’s also looking for basses and baritones.

“The choir sings four-part music,” she says. “We urge all voices to join us for a fun, rewarding experience.”

Gillhouse cofounded the Mission Valley Children’s Choir eight years ago, and says it attracts up to 30 youngsters who perform twice a year. Although she’s worked with children most of her life and enjoys the challenge, “I can be more relaxed around adults,” she says. “I can be freer, and adults listen to me. It’s just so fun.”

“We’re like family,” she adds of the Ronan Adult Education Women’s Choir, which also performs concerts each winter and spring.

As to juggling three choirs and six performances, Gillhouse admits she may have to relinquish a few of her other pursuits to make room. “If I get overwhelmed, I’ve got to learn how to say no.”

From bottle band to Cabaret

Gillhouse earned a reputation for creative programming as choir director in Ronan, where she led the students in “Cabaret,” the popular annual musical showcase. Her Ronan Show Choir represented Montana in three national competitions.

But her first experience as a musician came as a child, when her father forged a family singing group in Webster Groves, Mo., on the outskirts of St. Louis that “sang all over the place.” He also created a family “bottle band,” with each member playing four pop bottles apiece; they also played in the church bell choir. “We were just into music all the time.”

As the oldest of six kids, it was no surprise that she aspired to become a music teacher. The surprise was where she landed her first job.

Gillhouse graduated from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., at the end of winter semester with a degree in music education, but no position on the horizon. A professor showed her a job posting in the Saturday Review Magazine that read “Music Teacher Needed in Charlo, Montana.”

“Oh, thank you but I would never move to Montana – that’s like the end of the world,” she told her helpful instructor. Her husband, however, who was in the military at the time and seemed to have a more positive impression of Montana, “told me, ‘you take that job. Just take it.’”

She arrived via train, in the middle of winter, to teach band and choir to elementary and high school students in a tiny rural community. Her house was referred to as “the slum dwelling.”

Yet, the community embraced her, and she signed a contract to come back the following fall. “They were very appreciative – I was the third music teacher they’d had.”

Her husband joined her in Montana, earned his teaching credentials at UM and became a teacher and principal in the Ronan School District, where they both worked for decades.

Over a half century, the “end of the world” became home, and the Mission Valley continues to benefit from Gillhouse’s passion and musical acumen.

“Cathy is full of excitement and enthusiasm for this next new adventure,” says Raub-Fortner. “We all look forward to working with her.”

For information about joining the Mission Valley Choral Society, contact 406-261-3304 or 406-370-2076; or visit missionvalleychoralsociety.org or the Facebook page.