Children’s songs sung from voices spanning eight decades will fill the rafters in churches in Okotoks and High River this weekend.
The Foothills Philharmonic Chorus is joining forces with the Foothills Children’s Choir with Through Young Eyes, a concert featuring children’s music that ranges from the beloved Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to a song written by Mozart when he was just 12 years old.
The concert kicks off with a pre-concert talk by Sarah Wood at 6:30 p.m., digging into some of the pieces and the stories behind them, followed by the concerts emceed by two young singers at 7 p.m. in the High River United Church on May 11 and Okotoks United Church on May 12.
Foothills Philharmonic Chorus director Tim Korthuis said the concert will open with Eric Whitacre’s Animal Crackers to start the night with a bit of humour.
"We hope to get everyone laughing right from the start,” he said.
The concert will feature an assortment of arrangements from the 55-member chorus like Frere Jacques and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, whereas the Foothills Children’s Choir’s Prelude group, consisting of five to eight-year-olds, will sing songs about monkeys and the folk song Red River Valley, among others, in High River on Friday night.
On Saturday night in Okotoks, the Cantate group, consisting of 16 singers ages eight to 13, will showcase more challenging pieces that require harmony, said director Kristin Stearn.
They will sing a song in German and a Canadian folk song, as well as fun songs like John Lennon’s Imagine; A Thousand Years by Christina Perri and the theme song for the hit television show Big Bang Theory.
Stearn said this isn’t the first time the groups have collaborated.
"We link up from time to time with the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus because we like that mentorship that goes on,” she said. "Just listening to other choirs is really powerful and they get to see that you can go somewhere with singing and that even adults do that.”
Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for teens and seniors. Those ages 12 and under are free. Tickets are available at Sobeys in Okotoks and High River and at foothillsphilharmonic.com
