In the Beginning
On the crisp autumn evening of October 5, 1995, at a table in the
Rustic Mill Diner in Cranford, Tony Godlefski and a small group of
talented, dedicated friends decided to establish a new singing group.
We didn't even have the name yet, but knew we wanted to establish a
new group with the ideal of bringing bright, lively music to its
audiences. Some of the folks around that table had sung together
with Tony for about 17 years at the time. A major part of its reason
for being would be to sing for people who could not get out to hear
live performances: people in nursing homes, senior residences and
hospitals. We wanted to do this with a small, skilled, dedicated
ensemble, operating in a family atmosphere. The Starlite Chorale
was born.
With help from the wonderful people at Osceola Presbyterian Church (which Tony served as Music Director and Organist, Jan. 1971-June 1977) we established a musical home and began our search for a name. "Starlite" seemed just right - we wanted to bring music that was elegant, bright, optimistic, and "reaching far the stars". We were inspired by a line from a Gershwin classic:
I've got starlight,
I've got sweet dreams,
I've got my gal,
Who could ask for anything more?
The alternate spelling makes us, well, just a little unique.
More than a decade has passed since then. In that time, Starlite has become a musical family. We have sung in churches, each summer at Ocean Grove's Tabernacle, "First Night" New Year's Eve concerts in Somerville, Montclair, East Orange, and Nyack, NY, and outdoor pre-firework shows on the fourth of July. We were proud to sing the songs of America outdoors along the candlelit main street of Linden, NJ, in the aftermath of the 9/11 crisis. We have also sung in hospital rooms, rehabilitation facilities, around outdoor bonfires, as well as in many diners and in a circle in their adjacent parking lots. Numerous hilarious stories have developed around Starlite diner adventures.
Starlite is proud to host the Sparklers, our children's and youth choir, and to now have a fine set of Malmark0 handbells to enhance our Christmas show. We sing two show formats per year, (Christmas and a "Great American Songbook" style Spring show) with a total of about 15 performances each year. We sing public concerts with faithful and growing audiences, benefit concerts which raise funds for charitable organizations, and good will concerts for senior centers and medical facilities.
The Starlite Chorale is truly a musical family. That family includes
our faithful audiences.
We are pleased indeed to welcome you to the
circle of the Starlite musical family.
Our Director
Dr. Tony Godlefski is a graduate cum laude of the Westminster Choir
College, Princeton, NJ where he studied organ and choral conducting.
His teachers include
Fred Waring
, Robert Shaw
, Virgil Fox
, Walter Reinhold
, Harold Zabrack
, and Alice Parker
. He holds a Master of
Divinty and Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University.
He serves. as pastor of the Montgomery United Methodist Church
in Belle Mead, NJ.
Places We've Performed
Starlite Chorale Performances
Starlite presents a new "spring show" each year, as well as a very traditional
Christmas show. A Starlite show typically lasts about one hour, but can be
customized to fit your occasion.
Shows are accompanied by piano and possibly drums and bass as well.
Although the theme and content of each show
varies from year to year, here's a sample of the kind of songs we sing:
Copyright © 2010, The Starlite Chorale
P. O. Box 1175, Belle Mead, NJ 08502
Dr. Tony Godlefski, Musical Director