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Award-nominated choir in town

The Canadian Chamber Choir is stopping at Quest University as part of their B.C. tour
The Canadian Chamber Choir artistic team (Left to right) Jeff Enns, composer-in-residence; Julia Davids, artistic director; Joel Tranquilla, associate conductor.

Juno-award nominated choir will be bringing some of the finest choral talents in Canada to Squamish this February for a performance at Quest University as part of their tour of the Lower Mainland.

The tour, from Feb. 18 to 26, also includes stops by the Canadian Chamber Choir in Abbotsford, Surrey and Vancouver.

The choir, which formed 15 years ago, has travelled to almost every corner of Canada, but it’s been a while since they were in B.C., explained Joel Tranquilla, associate conductor, music educator, and director of choral activities at Trinity Western University, where the choir will be in residency during their tour.

“We were on the West Coast four years ago, but haven’t been back since, so it was time to come back to B.C.,” he said.

In addition to giving live performances, the choir has a mandate to build community through choral singing. As part of that commitment, educational outreach forms a huge part of each tour, and choir members work with local singers, conductors, composers and schools to offer workshops and activities to inspire young musicians.

To that end, Quest University’s own choir will be sharing the stage with them on the night of their performance.

“I feel we’re taking a step forward this year in really striving for excellence in the choir and there’s nothing like encountering professional musicians to inspire what is possible,” said Jeff Warren, professor of music at Quest.  

“It’s pretty special for Squamish to have a choral performance of this calibre… and I don’t think we’ve ever had something like this at the university before. It’s going to be a really special evening for both the for students and the community,” he added.

The Canadian Chamber Choir performs work almost exclusively by Canadian artists, and champions pieces by many young and emerging composers, explained Tranquilla, who added that they specialise in bringing narratives together to tell stories using their signature, classical sound.

“We’re really a very unusual ensemble and often we joke that it’s the hardest kind of choir you can dream up,” said Tranquilla, who explained members often come from small communities across Canada, where high-level musical opportunities may not be available. Singers receive the music in advance, and get together just a few days before their tour to rehearse.

“It’s definitely not the typical weekly rehearsal,” he said.

As well as a few singers from B.C., this tour will include members from Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Ontario. They will also be accompanied by Ariel Barnes, principal cello of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

The Canadian Chamber Choir will perform at Quest on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. 

For tickets, tour details and information on local workshops visit canadianchamberchoir.ca.

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