The Juno-nominated Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC), a 20-member vocal ensemble of professional-level singers from across Canada, will perform a special live noon-hour concert featuring VSO principal cellist Ariel Barnes, at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 12:00pm.
Over the course of its 15-year history, the CCC has pursued a mandate of ‘building community through choral singing’ by touring in nearly every part of Canada. During its twice-yearly tour projects, the choir presents not only critically-acclaimed concerts of exclusively Canadian compositions, but also offers educational workshops for singers and choir conductors of all ages and stages wherever it tours. The CCC will be undertaking a week-long tour of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley from February 19 to 26 which include a residency at Trinity Western University (TWU), workshops at a number of middle and high schools, and shared concerts with groups such as the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Coastal Sound choirs, and the Trinity Western Chamber Choir.
The CCC is led by artistic director Dr. Julia Davids, a renowned choral conductor and music educator who is a music professor at North Park University in Chicago. She shares responsibility for the artistic direction of the CCC with associate conductor Dr. Joel Tranquilla, director of choral activities at TWU since 2014. A native of Fredericton who has been with the CCC for 10 years, Tranquilla is excited to host this tour. “I’m thrilled that the CCC is finally coming back to Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, because we have a wonderful lineup of workshops and performances for this tour, including the noon-hour concert at The Reach,” says Tranquilla. “We really appreciate the chance to perform at this beautiful venue and are very thankful for the sponsorship of Columbia Cabinets Ltd and the partnership with The Reach.”
This will be the Canadian Chamber Choir’s first tour in BC since releasing a new recording in late 2015 which earned a 2016 Juno nomination for Outstanding Classical Album: Vocal or Choral. Entitled “A Canadian Mass: Sacred Reflections of Canada”, the CCC’s second album is a collection of entirely Canadian-composed sacred works which have been programmed by Davids to create a ‘composite Canadian mass’. It features nineteen works from seventeen Canadian composers which incorporate the five traditional mass movements interspersed with other sacred-themed works, painting a rich and sonorous soundscape of spiritual introspection.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Columbia Kitchen Cabinets Ltd. – Hans Kruger, the tickets for the Canadian Chamber Choir noon concert on February 22nd at The Reach, 32388 Veterans Way, are only $10 for Reach Friends and $15 for Future Friends. Tickets are available online from The Reach at www.thereach.ca or by calling 604-864-8087. Complete information about the Canadian Chamber Choir can be found at www.canadianchamberchoir.ca.