Velvet Tones

Velvet Tones - Non-audition Senior Adult Community Chorus- Bringing the Joy of Singing to the Community

Velvet Tones, the Apple Valley-based senior adult non-audition community chorus began in 1997 with 10 members. Now numbering over 75 members, the Velvet Tones present up to 20 concerts each year throughout the metropolitan area. The Velvet Tones go to where the audience is. Venues include senior centers, senior housing, nursing homes, veteran's homes, churches, schools, veteran reunion organizations, corporate events and more. Each March the Velvet Tones invite a local elementary school choir to join with them in the annual "Festival of Music". This concert has included in the past a choir of developmentally delayed young adults, a local dance studio and the "South of the River Community Band", as well as the elementary school choirs.

Director of the Velvet Tones is Julie Berninghaus. The Velvet Tones present music that includes pop, rock, Broadway, country, patriotic and seasonal. In 2009 the Velvet Tones were asked to perform in the 2 act play, "My Father's Bookshelf", at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. This play had a run of 10 performances. Velvet Tones members come from several communities, mostly in Northern Dakota County.

Velvet Tones are sponsored by Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley. Rehearsals are held Thursday afternoons from September through May at Grace Lutheran Church. Financial support is provided by Apple Valley American Legion Post 1776, Dakota Electric Association, and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.