PEMBROKE — The Yukon conjures up vivid and romantic images of the Klondike Gold Rush, Northern Lights, icebergs and grizzlies. What is it about this northern territory that attracts thousands of people there every year and entices some to stay forever?
Ottawa Valley residents will have the opportunity to discover the lure of the north when the Yukon’s Whitehorse Community Choir (WCC) comes to Pembroke for a special concert called ‘The Spell of the Yukon’. They will be performing at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 2nd at Calvin United Church and have invited members of the Pembroke Community Choir (PCC) to be their special guests to perform a few pieces from their spring Canadiana concert.
The Whitehorse choir is travelling to Ontario to perform at the Shaw Centre and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Canada Day. In a musical celebration called ‘Unisong’, there will also be 15 other choirs from across the country forming a massed choir of approximately 600 voices. Some of the songs the Yukon choir will perform on Canada Day will be sung for the Pembroke audience as well.
At the July 2nd concert, the Pembroke audience will actually be hearing three Yukon choirs perform. The Whitehorse Community Choir has an average of 80 members who sing a varied repertoire from modern to classical, but within that large choir, some members have also branched out to form smaller choirs of about a dozen singers in each. The Persephone Singers and the Chamber Choir are two of the auditioned groups who will present some of their repertoire in Pembroke.
The Pembroke Community Choir is pleased to have been invited to perform a few pieces from their spring concert, and to participate in a combined choir with the WCC for two songs as well.
PCC director Gerald LaRonde said, “It is always a wonderful experience to hear other choirs, especially when they bring their own unique Canadian perspective to the music. We feel honoured to have been invited to sing at the Whitehorse Community Choir concert and are really looking forward to seeing this special performance ourselves. It will be a great way to experience the true spirit of Canada from coast to coast to coast.”
The concert will be held at Calvin United Church, 276 Church Street in Pembroke, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 2nd. Tickets are $20, available at the door and children 13 years and under are free. For more information, contact Linda Clark at 613-735-6604 or visit www.pembrokecommunitychoir.org.
