The name of the ensemble is different, but the tradition of holiday songs in four-part, barbershop-style harmonies that started with the Stephen Foster Chorus continues in Warren.

Akron’s Derbytown Chorus will perform a Christmas concert Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church.

When the Stephen Foster Chorus disbanded in 2021 after 75 years, members of the Akron chorus joined them for the final performance to supplement its dwindling ranks.

Some of the remaining Warren chorus members joined Derbytown, and last year the group brought its barbershop-style Christmas concert to Warren.

Frank Bozek, one of the Stephen Foster singers who now performs with the Akron group, said, “They enjoyed it so much (in 2021) that they liked the idea of coming back. We had such a good time last year preparing the concert for such a good cause that we wanted to do it again this year.”

Admission to Sunday’s concert is free, but donations will be collected to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital.

“The chorus is located in Akron, so we do a lot of work for the hospitals,” Bozek said. “We have a choral group, a quartet that goes out, called the Music Medics, where they visit the hospitals and sing for patients, so it seemed like a no brainer to choose Akron Children’s. And since we’re coming back to Warren, we wanted to do it as a benefit for the Trumbull and Mahoning branches of the facility.”

Last year’s concert raised about $1,300, and Bozek said they hope to surpass that total this year.

The concert will feature traditional holiday fare and an international theme for one portion of the program. There will be a guest appearance by Santa Claus and a performance by Warren G. Harding High School Choir.

“They were an active part of our Christmas programs back in the day with the Warren chorus, so I’m very happy to have them back,” Bozek said.

And some of the traditions of the Stephen Foster Chorus have become part of Derbytown’s holiday performance. The “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” head the Warren chorus used in its show was incorporated into last year’s concert.

“One of our mainstays was a traditional version of ‘Silent Night,'” Bozek said. “Bob Kranyak, who was a member of the Warren group with me, he’s singing with us in Akron now, and he does a solo on ‘Silent Night’ that everybody loves. I brought that into the Akron program as well.”

If you go …

WHAT: Derbytown Chorus Christmas Concert

WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Christ Episcopal Church, 2627 Atlantic St. NE, Warren

HOW MUCH: Admission is free with donations collected to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital in the Mahoning Valley.