With the new year comes a new choir term as we say goodbye to the plethora of Christmas music December brought and move towards spring and Easter. Now is a perfect time to join one of these loving communities of like-minded people, united in song and friendship. And here on the Coast, there are more choirs than there are days of the week!
The Coast Messiah Choir (www.coastmessiahchoir.ca) rehearses Monday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. in Sechelt, and will be preparing to sing Charpentier’s Messe de minuit at a concert of Baroque orchestral music on April 3 and 4.
On Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., Pender Harbour Choir (www.penderharbourmusic.ca) gathers at the School of Music in Madeira Park to prepare for their concerts May 29 to 31, featuring a diverse and varied palette of songs with local composer Ken Johnson.
Younger singers can consider Janice Brunson’s Choralations (jbrunson@dccnet.com), the longest-running children’s choir on the Coast. They rehearse at Davis Bay Elementary School on Wednesdays at 5 p.m., and have performances upcoming at the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts, the Kiwanis Festival in Richmond, and their joint performances with A Cappella Strait May 22 and 23.
Suncoast Phoenix (www.suncoastphoenixchoir.ca), the largest choir on the Coast, rehearses on Thursdays, 6:45 p.m. at Living Faith Lutheran in Davis Bay under the delightful direction of Sara Douglas. They’ll be preparing for their concerts May 9 and 10 and invite anyone to come along to their first few open rehearsals in January.
Coast Vespersong (coastvespersong@gmail.com) is looking for more members to rehearse Friday afternoons, 2 to 3:30 p.m. at St. Bart’s in Gibsons. They will rehearse for 10 weeks, then present a service of Choral Evensong at St. Hilda’s in Sechelt on March 15. This season they are featuring the music of Charles Villiers Stanford and others.
If none of these choirs suit you, there are more! Do a quick search for Inspirito, Arbutus Sounds, MusicMakers, Sunshine Coast Children’s Choir and more.
Studies have shown that singing in choir is good for you physically, and it’s also beneficial for your mental health. A weekly choir community will surely set you up for the best year ever in 2020!
– Submitted by David Poon
