George Waldie Jr. Retires as West Chester Area Community Chorus Director
George Waldie Jr., director of the West Chester Area Community Chorus, will be retiring from his position this Spring and entrusting the chorus to his daughter, Samantha Brown. His final concert as director will be May 16th, 2026 at 7pm at West Chester East High School.
George has been the director of the group since its inception in 1997. He received his B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University and taught music in several public schools. After moving into the business world, he remained involved in music by directing the chorus. “When the chorus sings, they lift my spirits and bring me real joy. I’ve never felt like rehearsing or performing was ‘work’—I always head home with a smile,” said George.
The chorus began as a dream of Ruthann Waldie, George’s wife, who envisioned a group for adults in the area who enjoyed singing, but did not want the pressure of an audition-based group. “I hadn’t sung for many years when Ruthann came up with the idea to start a community chorus. George has always made it fun and seemed to be having even more fun than we were. But by the same token, he really wanted us to be better and taught us techniques that would improve our sound,” said President Charlie Vogeley. The group began with 28 people, and today the chorus has over 150 active members.
George’s daughter, Samantha, who holds a B.S. in Music Education, sang with the group regularly and over time started assisting with rehearsals and conducting select pieces. Samantha then became co-director and began to take on a leadership role within the group. “Samantha brings out the best in us. She doesn’t get rattled by anything and makes us smile,” said board member Marj Scott.
Although George will be missed, the group is in good hands with Samantha as the new director.
“For several years now, I’ve known Samantha would be the perfect person to lead the chorus into its next chapter,” said George, “I have complete confidence that she will guide the chorus forward for another 25 years and beyond.”
