CHORUS GAINS EUROPEAN FANS.

Byline: VICTORIA GIRAUD

Gloria Hilliard was astonished at the reception her Village Voices Chorale received this summer during a first European concert tour.

``The audiences were enthusiastic,'' the group's director said. ``This was amazing. We received standing ovations, and they would come up and hug you afterward.''

The Village Voices, combined with a smaller choir from Northern California, toured and sang in Heidelberg, Germany; Grindelwald, Switzerland; Florence and Venice, Italy; and Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria.

They sang outdoors in front of the Schoenberg Palace in Vienna and in front of the Golden Roof in Innsbruck. In Florence, Vienna and Venice, they performed in grand old cathedrals.

``We weren't used to being in cathedrals like that, much less singing in them. It was fun with all the reverberation,'' Gloria said.

She recalled an enthusiastic, older Italian woman who spoke little English. After the Californians sang in San Marco Church in Venice, the grandmotherly woman came up and gave them all hugs.

In Innsbruck, rain threatened to cancel their outdoor concert. At the last minute, the clouds lifted and the sun came out. ``We all laughed. It was meant to be,'' Gloria enthused.

European audiences loved spirituals such as ``Elijah Rock'' and ``Soon-ah Will Be Done.'' Italians knew enough words of ``Battle Hymn of the Republic'' to sing along. Other favorites included ``Shenandoah,'' ``Kum Ba Jah'' and ``Dona Nobis Pacem.''

An Agoura Hills resident since 1972, Gloria grew up in Mississippi. ``I don't remember not playing the piano,'' she said. Later she studied clarinet and organ. ``I've been singing forever.''

Her two degrees in music have led her to a busy career of teaching, performing and conducting. Besides being director of the Village Voices since 1987, Gloria is director of music and organist at the United Methodist Church in Westlake Village, and she has 30 private piano students.

``One problem I have is relaxing. I have too much energy,'' Gloria said. Playing doubles, she schedules herself regularly in tennis leagues, and she has remained active in a bridge group for 26 years.

The Village Voices chorus was started in 1969 by ``a group of people in Westlake Village who loved to sing,'' Gloria explained. The group organized holiday meals, did all the preparation, then sing madrigals for friends after dinner.

Over the years, it's grown into a 60-voice chorale that gives two main concerts a year, in December and June. The male and female members remain enthusiastic and volunteer their voices for business entertainment, hospitals and retirement homes.

They've also had some celebrity gigs. They sang backup for a recent Barry Manilow concert at the Civic Arts Plaza, were part of the huge choir singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that opened the Plaza, and have been in two movies - ``Sibling Rivalry'' with Kirstie Alley and a TV movie with Marlo Thomas.

Concerts are planned with plenty of variety. Gloria uses solos, duets and small groups to keep the audience's attention. The singers come from all over the Conejo and Simi valleys, with others from Camarillo and the San Fernanco Valley. The Village Voices are auditioning singers for spots in the chorale. For information, call [phone].

Gloria's family - husband Michael and children, Amber, 24, and Aaron, 20 - went along on the summer concert tour. Amber and Aaron, both musically talented, were among the performers.

Gloria said that she and her husband, who has made the FBI his career, have been lucky.

``We both like what we're doing. We feel we're making the world a better place.''

MEMO: Victoria Giraud welcomes comments and suggestions for columns. Call her at [phone].

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Photo

Photo: Gloria Hilliard of Westlake Village is director of t he Village Voices group, which recently toured Europe.

Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News