By Brenda Lewis
“I felt the positive energy in the room, and felt buoyed by the music throughout the afternoon.”
These are the words of Charlene Pauls, Guelph Chamber Choir (GCC)’s new Artistic Director after conducting the well-established choir and their guest artists for the concert “Bob Chilcott’s Five Days That Changed The World and Other Works” on the bright, lovely stage of Harcourt Memorial United Church last Sunday afternoon, October 27th.
Charlene Pauls, Guelph Chamber Choir’s New Artistic Director. Photo Credit, Sandra Pitts
“We began our new season, and my first concert as Artistic Director, with an energetic, ambitious program, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome” says Pauls. “It was a treat to share the stage with Richard Moore, our esteemed guest percussionist, the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI) Chamber Choir under the direction of Lane Osborne, and, to work together with our longtime GCC pianist, Alison McNeill.”
Watch an excerpt from this exciting performance
Video credit: Kevin Pitts
From a diverse program of repertoire she selected which focused on music that brings people together, Pauls was especially gratified by the experience, noting “A few of my favourite moments were hearing the whole audience join in as we created a rainstorm in Eric Whitacre’s “Cloudburst”, witnessing the commitment and beautiful singing of the high school students, seeing the joy on the faces of the GCC choir as we sang through our program, and the comedic timing of a costume surprise from one of our basses as we sang the encore!”
A humorous moment in the encore. Photo credit, Sandra Pitts
Holiday Season Concerts: Well-loved Traditions and Fresh New Offerings
“On the afternoon of Sunday December 1st our Christmas Lessons and Carols Concert in the beautiful, historical St George’s Anglican Church is bound to be another audience-pleaser” Charlene Pauls exclaims. “We have a brilliant brass quintet joining us and will include many moments for audience carol singalongs as well as providing beautiful seasonal music both new and familiar. This highly–anticipated annual event will once again be a great concert for music-lovers of all ages and offers the perfect way to enter into the Christmas season.”
“The GCC performances of Handel’s “Messiah” have rightly become a popular Guelph tradition”. Pauls goes on to emphasize: “We have an exceptionally high-quality roster of musicians with world-class guest soloists, an orchestra of Handel specialists in the Viva Musica Orchestra, and the finely-tuned voices of the Guelph Chamber Choir.” Pauls goes on to announce that “This year’s vocal soloists wil be Bethany Horst, Soprano; Jennifer Enns-Modolo, Alto; Lawrence Wiliford, Tenor; and, Bradley Christensen, Bass.”
Laura Harp, GCC Soloist. Photo credit, Sandra Pitts
“Another great opportunity for audiences who love singing is to join us for what has become a new tradition for the Guelph community and our choir: the shorter, sing-along Messiah fundraising concert on Friday, December 20th at St George’s Anglican Church, and then come back the next evening to the River Run Centre for our Saturday, December 21st full performance on the glorious, big stage.”
Prices vary for adult tickets, but Guelph Chamber Choir encourage young people to discover the joys of choral music by offering special discounted ticket prices. For all of their concerts, the choir welcomes them to attend at just $10 for students and those age 30 and under, and, only $5 for youth age 14 and under.
Learn much more about Guelph Chamber Choir and how to order concert tickets at http://www.guelphchamberchoir.ca .
