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Scientist by day, singer by night

John Ashworth
singer
John Ashworth sings with the Vancouver Bach Choir.

Once a week, John Ashworth of Gibsons travels to Vancouver to attend rehearsals of the Vancouver Bach Choir (VBC). You might hear him singing softly under his breath on the ferry. He stays overnight in the city, returning to work on various science projects that he stills pursues in his retirement. It earns him the self-described title of mad scientist by day, choral enthusiast by night. 

This week the singer will appear in the opening of VBC’s 85th anniversary season on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. at The Orpheum for the Christmas with the Bach Choir concert, an annual cherished tradition. In this particular concert of classics and seasonal works, although the adults have one major piece, the audience will hear more from the Vancouver Bach Children’s Chorus and the young adult Sarabande Chamber Choir.

“They’re hot stuff,” Ashworth says. “You can hear the development of the youth from the simple pieces sung by the children up a level.”

Ashworth has been singing most of his life – he played in a rock band in his home town of Manchester, England, and studied music more seriously while in Australia where he met his wife. Although he worked in England professionally as a chemist, the couple decided to move to Alberta in 1981, where he developed projects far removed from singing: determining the reaction of ammonia in soils and a test for waste water toxicity. Ashworth joined the Richard Eaton singers in Edmonton, an oratorio choir that covers repertoire similar to the VBC. He learned much from the experience, including discovering he was a tenor and that tenors are in short supply. He retired in 2013 and the couple moved to Gibsons, where he auditioned and joined the VBC.

“I may be retired, but my brain is still buzzing,” he said. He’s in the process of obtaining his fourth patent in his science career, and the singing will not stop. “I’ll be singing ‘til my voice conks out,” he laughs.

On Dec. 12, he will be back on stage when the Vancouver Bach Choir presents the harmonies, resounding orchestrations and sublime arias of Handel’s Messiah at 8 p.m. at The Orpheum. Under the baton of music director Leslie Dala, the concert includes solo performances and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It’s the full-length Messiah, as performed in 1742, originally intended as an Easter glorification. Part of Handel’s purpose in creating the splendid oratorio was to engage and educate audiences on the writings of the Bible at a time when illiteracy was common and printed Bibles were rare.

“It was difficult to learn the parts,” Ashworth says. “I was completely in despair the first time I had to learn it with the Eaton singers.” There are 53 parts in it, he points out, four solos and 20 choruses. Tickets for the VBC’s Christmas show on Dec. 6 and Messiah on Dec. 12 are available at vancouverbachchoir.com or by phone at 604-696-4290.

If you can’t make it into Vancouver for this performance, the Coast Messiah Choir is presenting the Christmas section of the Messiah in Davis Bay under the direction of Joy McLeod. The choir will be accompanied by string quartet and harpsichord, and joined by trumpets for selected choruses. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto Grosso for string quartet and harpsichord will be performed in the second half, followed by the choir’s performance of carol arrangements by Sir David Willcocks to mark the well-respected British musician’s passing earlier this year. The evening’s entertainment will conclude with Gibsons’ organist David Poon leading the choir and audience in a carol sing-along.

Choose from two performances at St. John’s United Church (5085 Davis Bay Rd.) on Sunday, Dec. 13 and Wednesday, Dec. 16, both at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20, and can be reserved by contacting Joy at dacapophc@gmail.com or by calling 604-883-9248.