The genesis of the Dan Kane Singers began in 1962, when members
of the Rosary Church in the "flats" of Holyoke, gathered to
celebrate their collective love of music. The "Rosaires", as
they were known, performed their music until 1972, when the church
closed its doors. By this time, the group's reputation for
good music and the local folk's enthusiasm for the same, prompted
the group to seek a venue to continue their performances. A
popular restaurant of the day, Gleason's Townhouse, played host to
the informal group, and they became known locally as the Gleason
Town House Singers, under the direction of Jack Hague.
The
popularity of their shows grew, and unexpectedly, 10 days before a
show, Jack Hogue resigned. There was no accompanist for the
group. Jim Kane offered the services of his piano-playing
16-year old son, Danny, and in short order, Danny learned the
repertoire, and the show was a rousing success! The Town
House Singers flourished under the direction of this young
man. The eventual closing of Gleason's left the group one
again without a name or a place to perform. The Yankee Pedlar
Restaurant adopted the singers, and it was felt that with a new
venue, a new name should grace the group, and the Dan Kane Singers
was born. The performances in the Opera House left the locals
clamoring for more, and DKS delivered. They were hometown
heroes. |
As the size of the audience grew, the group did
as well. Successive moves to larger banquet facilities and
auditoriums sheparded the move from Holyoke to Springfield, in
auditoriums like Cathedral HS and West Springfield HS. Soon,
DKS performances moved to a sold-out City Stage, and when this
proved to become too small, the unfathomable thought of filling
Symphony Hall too capacity became a reality in 1999. The genre
of the music and shows were infectious! An obvious void had
been filled in the music community...DKS continued to perform sold
out shows at Symphony Hall, until the group outgrew the stage...yet
another venue would be needed to house the chorus of 160
voices. And, so, in 2005, MassMutual Center welcomed the
group, with a doubling of our audience to nearly
5,000!
A return to the roots of DKS took place a few
years ago, with the decision to bring faithful and inspirational
music to local churches. Entirely different from the large
extravaganzas, these performances, in many ways, reflect the love we
have for God and the love we have for each other. We are
friends, and we are a family. We are ordinary people with an
extraordinary love for what we do. We relish our history...we
look forward to our future, and we thank you, our audience, for
being a part of our past. Merry
Christmas!!! |
