Barriere singers came out of the woodwork on Mar. 7 for the first meeting regarding the forming of a community choir, and then again the following week for practice at the Church of St. Paul.
Not just from Barriere - some singers drove in from Little Fort as well.
After a healthy vocal warm-up, the new choir was more than ready, if not impatient, to take on the music and jumped right in - fantastic harmonies right from the start. There were sight-readers and ear singers, and all appeared to have enjoyed their time in the group and looked forward to attending the next session.
Unfortunately, the turnout for the youth choir meeting was low as it was the same night as the high school Grad Fashion show; but the few that did show up were appreciated.
For the moment practices will be held regularly at the Church of St. Paul on Thursdays for the youth, and on Wednesdays for the adult community choir, both at 7 p.m.
New members will be accepted until the end of March. After that, there will not be enough time to learn the music (except if you audition personally and can learn very quickly).
Practice CDs will be available to help singers practice at home.
Organizer Leah Jones says she can also offer a few personal lessons to get singers up to speed, or to increase their confidence before joining, or to help them along during time in the choir.
Attendance is not expected to be 100 per cent but a reasonable commitment is required.
Jones’ says her teen vocal students (six so far) “... may have to be the ‘specialty youth choir’ if there aren’t any other interested teens around who want to sing in the choir. This will be just enough to do some of the vocal work required for the upcoming Peace Concert that is planned for early June.”
Future pieces that will be planned for the youths are preferred songs of the choir members and any that can be turned into a GLEE song will be performed with choreography and panache. If you are younger than 12, but are an accomplished singer - you may be welcomed into the choir after an audition.
Jones says, “If there are youths that are interested, but just can’t make it in for an evening practice, after school practice could be considered but only if there are enough teens to warrant a practice. Extra practice can be on the Thursdays evenings for those that want it or need it and certainly for the soloists.”
“The Peace concert will have beautiful songs and some well known songs that the audience will be tempted to sing along with. The last song will encourage the audience to participate. Assorted instruments such as African drum (djembe), shakers and other possibles such as violin and cello are all in the mix.”
Jones also encourages the public to attend the upcoming performances in Barriere, Little Fort, Clearwater, and Kamloops.
For more information on choir practice contact Leah Jones at 250-957-8440 or redpepper62@live.com or leahpepperjones.com.