Take a musical history tour as Northern Lights Chamber Choir celebrates Canada’s 150th birthday this month.
“It’s a different kind of concert for us; it’s a look at the music of Canada from 1606 to the present time,” says conductor Steve Guidone. “In the first half, we sing about the history of Canada and in the second half we move across the country from the Maritimes through central Canada and the Prairies to the West Coast.”
Called Songs of the People: Canada 150 Plus, there will be imported songs of New France, the British Isles and New England through to contemporary composers, with piano accompaniment by Jim Johnston.
In this all-Canadian concert, the audience will be guided through the early years by the choir’s very own voyageur, Jacques Claude, played by local singer and actor Fred Green.
The “plus” in the concert’s sub-title is meant to acknowledge the Aboriginal Peoples’ long history on this land and to appreciate the role indigenous people played welcoming new peoples and shaping this country we call Canada.
The idea of the plus came from Vancouver’s Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee as part of an attempt to “heal from the past and move forward with shared understanding and respect,” says Guidone, noting Neskonlith Band member and talented storyteller Kenthen Thomas will take part in the concert.
In the early days of New France, music was sung in homes, in the fields, and at social gatherings; it reverberated on the rivers and lakes as the voyageurs paddled the waterways. Tales of the voyageurs in songs such as Le prince d’orange conjure up romantic visions of the rugged frontier life.
Follow our vast country’s history through the political and social climate as it has been recorded in music, from the early days, through the development of more formal musical groups and the changes wrought by the advent of radio.
“Northern Lights donates to various causes because of a pressing need from time to time without any fanfare,” says Guidone. “Some of the proceeds of this concert series will be donated to the local Syrian Refugee fund.”
The Northern Lights Choir concert takes place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12 at St.. Mary’s Anglican/United Church in Sorrento. Salmon Arm performances take place at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 17 and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19.