Sea to Sky Singers to perform celebration concert

The community choir will soon host a spring celebration with both song and dance.

The Sea to Sky Singers will present Sing, Dance and Celebrate on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. and April 30 at 2:30 p.m. at St. John the Divine Anglican Church in the Garibaldi Estates. Doors will open 30 minutes before the showtime and tickets are available at the door or through Eventbrite for $25 apiece. Attendees 12 and under can get in free with a paying adult.

The 47-person choir is directed by Veronica McPhee and accompanied by Jacquie Brownridge. This year marks McPhee’s 20th anniversary as the choir’s music director.

“In the last few years, we haven't had that many opportunities to get together and celebrate and so this kind of touches on those ideas and those themes,” said McPhee.

The concert celebration will also invite the audience to participate at times.

“In addition to a number of songs that are all about singing and celebrating and dancing, we're also going to have a component of community dancing together,” she said, which would consist of clapping or moving in a circle with a group.

While many of the concerts by the choir incorporate supportive pieces, McPhee said the dancing was a special way of celebrating.

“I've always loved folk dancing, dancing in a group where you don't need a partner or your partner is changing,” she said. “That true community feeling of people adding together to create that mood of celebration.”

McPhee reiterated that the audience can choose whatever participation level they feel like doing.

“I really hope that people embrace the idea, but that they're not scared off by it,” she said. “Whatever kind of participation level they are willing to give, we will welcome.”

McPhee said being in the music director role for 20 years felt “surreal.”

“Sometimes it feels like a lot of time has gone by but sometimes it's just a blink,” she said. “I’ve always considered myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to conduct Sea to Sky Singers.”

McPhee called the 47-person group one of the largest choirs in her years as music director. While it is an adult group, she said the age range is fairly large and everyone has something to offer.

“As restrictions started to lift, people started to look for ways to be creative and ways to reconnect with people,” she explained. “And singing together is one of those things that's scientifically proven to really bond people together.”

This is not the only concert McPhee is involved with during April. 

On Friday, April 14, a Howe Sound Performing Arts Association (HSPAA) production titled Earth: A Night of Indigenous Expression takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Eagle Eye Theatre. The show is a part of the association’s Elemental Concert Series.

Tickets for that performance are available on HSPAA’s website and will feature a variety of artists including Spakwus Slolem, Alex Wells, Kálkalilh (Deanna Lewis) and The Spiritual Warriors.