MANASSAS, Va. – A new CD of Patriotic hymns and fight songswritten for the nation's periods of civil uncertainty and newfreedoms is finding an audience among credit unions. The NationalMen's Chorus of “Life and Liberty-American Patriotic Music” – acompact disc of 21 tracks performed with the Washington SymphonicBrass at a 2003 Memorial Day concert – is the brainchild of ThomasBeveridge, founder and artistic director of the 40-member choralgroup. Beveridge has an indirect tie to the movement through ChipFilson, president/CEO of Callahan & Associates Inc., who hassung tenor with the Chorus for three years. An avid singer,Filson's passion for singing emerged during his high school yearsin his rural hometown of Renesselaer, Indiana. He also sang in hischurch choir, a pastime he continues to this day. “It's an interestI've always had,” Filson said. “Some people read or play golf.Singing for me provides that balance we all look for in our lives.”Ironically, Chip's wife Joan, shares Filson's vocal interests. Sheis a member of the 250-member New Dominion Chorale in Virginia,which is also headed by Beveridge. Does he ever get nervousperforming in massive concert halls in front of packed audiences?“There's always some nervousness but more than that, I'm alwayslooking for ways to sound better,” said Filson, who doesn't see anysolo command performances any time soon. “I'm what you wouldconsider in the amateur category,” he admitted. Formed in 1999, theChorus has performed a number of classical and traditionalcompositions at the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, theAmerican Music Festival at the National Gallery of Art, theWaterford, Virginia concert series and the Rachel SchlesingerConcert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Va. It seemed fittingwhen the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall commissioned Beveridge toarrange a cantata for the unveiling ceremony of the George MasonMemorial on the National Mall in 2002. Gunston Hall is the historicFairfax, Va. plantation of George Mason, the author of the VirginiaDeclaration of Rights. Much of the music in the Chorus repertoireis arranged by Beveridge, including a series of letters written byMason. “Without Chip, we could not have pulled the CD off,”Beveridge said. “He applies enthusiasm and hard work to thechorus.” Mason is widely known for one of the most famousdeclaration's in all of history: “all men are born equally free andindependent, and have certain inherent rights among which are theenjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring andpossessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness andsafety.” His historic words are included in the Bill of Rights.While some critics deem Mason's most famous declaration withskepticism because he owned African-Americans as slaves at GunstonHall, according to the plantation's official Web site, somehistorians point out that he initially refused to sign theConstitution partly because it did contain a provision to end theslave trade. Politics and historical questions aside, creditunions, corporates and industry vendors are buying the CDs indroves. Beveridge said more than 21,000 copies have been sold and asecond print run is pending. Service Credit Union in Portsmouth,N.H., bought 1,000 copies as Christmas gifts for 200 “high deposit”members at 14 military bases in Germany and their base commanders,said Ray Springsteen, vice president of marketing. The $850 millioncommunity-chartered credit union serves 85,000 members. “Ourmilitary members are so remote and so mobile, trying to maintain arelationship with them is important to us,” Springsteen said. “TheCD has a higher perceived value than, say, a pen and we get topersonalize it with a message from the CEO, (Gordon Simmons).”WesCorp plans to distribute copies of the 1,000 Life and LibertyCDs it ordered to attendees at its annual meeting in April, saidFreda Amir, marketing manager. The $23 billion corporate creditunion also plans to send them to some of its 1,000 member creditunions. “We were sold on the idea of it being an ample marketingopportunity,” Amir said. “It's a good patriotic move witheverything going on and it's a supportive (move) of the arts.” WhenStan Hollen, president/CEO of Liberty Enterprises heard about theCD, marketing bells went off. Since both the company and the CD'stitle share the word `liberty,' and a licensing stipulation allowsthe cover to be personalized, Hollen ordered 3,500 copies. Morethan 2,000 have already been sent to prospects and Hollenpersonally mailed 90 CDs over the holidays to people in theindustry. “It's a wonderful fit and so far, it's been wellreceived,” Hollen said. “I've received so many promotional itemsover the years – paperweights, I have more clocks than I'll everneed – this is something different and unexpected.” Navy FederalCredit Union co-sponsored the 2003 Memorial Day concert performedby the National Men's Chorus that inspired the CD's recording,Beveridge said. The sponsorship of the Chorus' concert isconsidered an “anomaly,” admitted Loren Moeller, Navy Federal'spublic relations manager. The credit union does support a number ofcharitable organizations but rarely has it ventured over to thearts arena. “The performance (was) patriotic in nature so we didwant to support it from that aspect,” Moeller said. “Every once andawhile we look at different local initiatives and since GunstonHall and George Mason are local memorials and we have the largestnumber of employees and members in Fairfax (here), it seemed tofit.” The Chorus' President, Ed Knight, is also chairman of theLibrary of Congress Federal Credit Union. At a rehearsal oneevening a few years ago, he discovered that Filson had strong tiesto credit union land. “In spite of his hectic schedule, Chip has avery high dedication to the chorus,” Knight said. “He's helped uschart our course promoting the CD and has good ideas on how we canraise money for the organization.” The word of mouth seems to bepaying off. The Chorus will perform at this year's CUNAGovernmental Affairs Conference. [email protected]