SACO — Two decades of making joyful music together hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm that members of the Tri City Community Chorus have for singing, or for each other.

Gathering to observe the non-profit organization’s 20th anniversary celebration with a special concert performance Saturday evening, Tri City participants consider what they do to be a labor of love and a way to unite their communities through the power of song. Those attending Saturday’s concert will spot some familiar faces with the return of a number of the group’s past directors making guest appearances during the performance.

Gary Marcet, former vocal music director and Fine Arts Department head at Biddeford High School, created the chorus in 1998 for singers in Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach and their first concert was held at Biddeford’s City Theater that same year. There were just 35 singers initially, but word of mouth spread and in six months there were more than 100 singers performing a diverse spectrum of choral music in both sacred and secular styles ranging from the great masters to contemporary artists as well as popular and show music from the best of Broadway.

“I had a desire and a dream to direct a chorus,” Marcet said.  “I saw an opportunity here and paid for music with my personal credit card.”

Marcet spent more than 10 years as Tri City director before time and circumstances led him to step down. He’s now semi-retired, but said he didn’t want to miss the group’s 20th anniversary concert.

“Groups like this often don’t make it,” he said. “I’ve known all the directors through the years and it’s been a very emotional experience to come back and be a part of this.”

Current Director Wes Raines is in his first year leading the chorus and says he’d love to build upon the group’s previous success.

“A lot of great musical things are happening here,” Raines said. “It’s a strong knit community with the dedication to improve.”

He said the biggest challenge he faces is bringing the group’s musicianship to the next level and working with so many different personalities.

Raines said music fans attending Saturday’s concert will be dazzled by works from G.F. Handel, Z. Randall Stroope, Joseph M. Martin and Allister MacGillivray and an exceptional performance of a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “State Fair,” which was included in the group’s first show back in 1998.

Former Director Matt Murray, who led Tri City from 2008 to 2015 also will be making a guest appearance during Saturday’s show.

“The best part of working with the Tri City Community Chorus is the people,” Murray said. “My favorite moments were seeing all of the men in tuxedos and the women in gowns during performances.”

Murray said the concerts were always memorable, but larger works performed by the group such as “Alleluia” by Paul Bassler are etched forever in his brain.

Tri City performs two concerts every year, including a winter holiday concert in December and a spring concert in June. Members assemble every Monday night at the Masonic Hall on Main Street in Saco for rehearsals. Proceeds from the group’s concerts help fund music scholarships awarded to deserving high school musicians.

Another veteran returning to perform with the group Saturday will be Denise Calkins, who served as pianist/accompanist for the chorus from 1998 to 2015.

Diane Tracy has been with Tri City Community Chorus from the beginning and now serves as the group’s president.

She says she still vividly recalls the group’s first concert in June 1998.

“We, the chorus members, and the director Gary Marcet, worked so hard week after week learning the music . Not only did we have to learn the music but we had to learn to sing and develop a choral sound with a group of people we were just getting to know,” Tracy said. “As challenging as it was, it was also very exciting. We all had the same love of music and the same goals. We wanted to share our talents and love of music with our community. We also had the goal of musically educating our community. When we finished singing our last song of that concert and the audience rose to their feet giving us a standing ovation I knew right there and then that I was where I wanted to be and that I had finally found a beautiful expressive way to give back to my community.”

Tracy said that group members take great pride in what they have accomplished.

“I have found strength, confidence, a deeper understand and love of music,” she said. “The one accomplishment that I will cherish the most is the accomplishment of building and being a part of an exceptional musical group that I consider my extended musical family.”

According to Tracy, the continuing success of the Tri City Community Chorus is a testament to all of its members.

“This group is a success because we all have the same love of music and we all have the same goals of sharing our talents and exposing the community to the power of music,” she said. “Music has many powers, but the greatest power music has is the power to give people hope and healing. I believe that hope and healing are the two things that  communities everywhere need most in these trying times.”

The annual Tri City Community Chorus spring concert will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 9 at the First Parish Church in Saco.  Tickets may be purchased from chorus members or at the Community Pharmacy inSaco and at the Hannaford Supermarket in Biddeford.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com