Grand River Chorus will be teaming up with the Edison Singers for A Canadian Remembrance concert.
Taking place at St. Andrew’s United Church, the concert will honour Remembrance and those who served their country.
As far as what to expect from the performance, the concert will feature Eleanor Daley’s “Requiem,” along with works by Canadian composers including James Rankin, Allister McGillvary, Paul Halley, Mark Sirett and James Wright.
“Eleanor Daley’s ‘Requiem’ is the feature piece. It is a death mass, but it’s got some really beautiful music in it and some really colourful, atmospheric harmonies. It’s about 20 minutes long and will take place in the first half,” said Shawn Oakes, Grand River Chorus’ musician coordinator. “We also have two of the “Next Gen” artists from Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Music, Sarah Storms and Emmanuel Dye, who will be singing the soprano and baritone solos for it too. It’s definitely a challenging piece, there’s some difficult parts in there but the rehearsals have been going well.
With about 40 to 50 people in the Grand River Chorus, and about 12 from the Edison Singers joining them, the second half will include a variety of lighter pieces.
“The Edison Singers will join in for the second half and that will feature some lighter, more modern music that sort of depicts Canadian landscapes,” said Oakes. “The Edison Singers will sing a set of songs on their own, and then with the Grand River Chorus as well. Some are more folk songs like ‘Song for the Mira,’ or ‘I’se the B’y,’ but there’s really a nice variety throughout the performance. There’s also no orchestra either, it will just be the piano and, or, the organ and then the two choirs so we’re looking forward to it.”
When asked what makes choral music so special, Oakes said it has a way of stirring something inside the audience.
“I think there’s always something people can relate to with choral music. There’s such a variety of styles, just like there is in popular music, so everybody can experience it in their own way. Sometimes there’s more of a toe-tapping feeling to a piece, other times it’s more atmospheric or conjures up different emotions and feelings,” he said. “It’s the human voice versus the instrument, and the text too. I think even if you don’t know anything about classical or choral music, it’s something people can connect to. Even when you don’t know what’s being sung, you can always tell if it has a happy, sad or even quirky feel to it because music is a universal language and it evokes an emotion. It just makes everyone just stop and listen.”
Oakes added that everyone should also keep an eye for when the two groups team up for the Comfort and Joy concert on December 19, also at St. Andrew’s United Church.
“That performance will be light-hearted with traditional Christmas carols and a couple of greetings, just short and sweet,” said Oakes.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
