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Spring concert hits a spiritual note

Okotoks’ newest choral group is collaborating with Calgary talent this weekend in a high-calibre concert featuring a range of spiritual melodies. The 70-member Foothills Philharmonic Chorus and the St.

Okotoks’ newest choral group is collaborating with Calgary talent this weekend in a high-calibre concert featuring a range of spiritual melodies.

The 70-member Foothills Philharmonic Chorus and the St. David’s United Church Choir from Calgary will share their vocal capabilities in a performance of Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor at its spring concert Spiritual Masters: From Old World to New at the Okotoks United Church May 13 and 14.

“This work requires two separate choirs learning different parts,” said director Tim Korthuis. “It has this great split and these walls of sound and beautiful harmonies.”

Korthuis, who has previously worked with St. David’s United Church Choir director Brent Tucker, said Tucker asked him if his chorus would perform the complicated piece for the church’s April concert.

He agreed even though learning the piece wasn’t a simple task.

“It’s a big work to learn,” he said. “It’s a little intimidating at first glance.”

Korthuis realized the partnership could work both ways and invited the St. David’s United Church Choir to perform the same number at the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus’ annual spring concert.

“When we did that first performance at St. David’s everyone was over the moon and were so excited the way it came together,” he said. “It’s a great partnership between the two choirs.”

Korthuis decided to offset Mozart’s piece with some light spiritual songs.

“We really try to put together concerts that encompass lots of different beautiful pieces of music,” he said. “We wanted to balance that out with things that were light, but are still pretty difficult to learn on their own. The lighter part is new spiritual. It’s a different take on spirituality.”

The Philharmonic Chorus will also sing six spiritual songs and the more experienced singers in Foothills Philharmonic Chamber Choir will sing two more.

Members of the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus will talk about the history of some of the pieces in a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. The concert will follow at 7 p.m.

Korthuis used his connections with other choral groups to fill the rest of the program.

“I’m on the mailing list for a lot of my favourite choirs,” he said, adding he often keeps track of pieces they perform. “I conducted at the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus and the Spiritus Chamber Choir at a concert this past year and they did a whole bunch of spiritual songs. I thought I would take a couple of those.”

Among the songs the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus will sing are I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til the Spirit Moves in My Heart by Moses Hogan and Spiritual by Ysaye M. Barnwell.

The Foothills Philharmonic Chamber Choir, known for tackling more challenging pieces, will sing a song by choir member Ana Loewen.

Loewen creates songs for the piano from poetry she finds online and from local sources and impressed Korthuis with Summer Sea, which he selected for the concert.

“Last summer I had a goal to start writing choral music on a more regular basis and had written a few pieces already,” she said. “When I look at poems I just try to find if there is a rhyming scheme that works well with music or is conducive of a running theme or chorus and this one just seemed to work.”

Loewen has performed some of her songs at her church, but this will be her first public debut.

“When we first sang it as a group I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face,” she said. “This one has a romantic feel to it, but it’s also a lot of imagery about the sea. The words are beautiful.”

Loewen joined the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus initially to accompany the group on the piano, but in the last year spread her wings and began singing a cappella and is one of the voices for Summer Sea.

Tickets to attend Spiritual Masters: From Old World to New cost $20 for adults, $18 for youth and children age 10 and under are free.

They can be purchased at foothillsphilharmonic.com or the Okotoks United Church. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Okotoks Refugee Support Fund to support Syrian refugees moving to the area.

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