Christmas comes early this year with an evening of holiday choral music and a homecoming of sorts for a young Powell River musician.
Powell River Chorus will present its annual Christmas Concert and Wassail on Wednesday, December 4 at Evergreen Theatre, Powell River Recreation Complex.
Jerry Durnin has been singing in the choir for the last 15 years and said that it strives to create a new experience for concert-goers each year.
“It changes from year to year with one or two exceptions that we bring back,” she said. “We all work hard to practice singing as well as we can.”
The chorus is open to anyone who wishes to sing and there are no auditions to pass. The choir ranges in size from 50 to 70 singers from year to year. It is directed by Walter Martella. “We fill the stage from one side to the other, with a little room for the pianist and for Walter in the front,” added Durnin.
For the past 59 years, the chorus has been performing a community Christmas concert.
“Some original choir members have been here all the while and some have come back,” she said. The choir includes two original members, Steuart Ferguson and Anora Chapman. Dick Hibberd, also an original member, sang with the chorus until last year.
The music in the first half of the evening is more classical, said Durnin. “The kind of thing you might hear in church.” Guest performer this year, Andy Rice, will sing during the middle and then the music shifts to the chorus singing more contemporary Christmas tunes and a few carols for audience participation to wind up the program. After the concert, the audience is invited to join the chorus for the wassail—holiday treats and non-alcoholic warm apple cider.
Rice, who grew up in Powell River, has been asked to perform as the guest artist as he was the first to win a bursary from the chorus when he graduated from Brooks Secondary School. The chorus is asking all past recipients to perform at upcoming concerts so the public can see where the recipients are now that they have completed their schooling and moved into their musical careers.
“I always come home for Christmas anyway, but I’ll come home a little earlier this year,” said Rice. He has never been a member of the chorus, but he sang as a guest performer about 10 or 12 years ago. “It kind of feels like full circle.”
Rice said he will open the second half of the evening with about 15 minutes of his own music, “a concert within a concert.”
He sang in the Powell River Academy of Music’s children’s choir and has a history of working with Martella.
“I’ve known him since I was a little trouble-maker,” he said. “It’ll be good to look over and see Walter conducting. It’s a good history.”
Rice brought his band No Island to Powell River last May to play the Max Cameron Theatre.
“We had a blast,” he said. “It’s still one of the better shows we’ve played and the most fun we’ve had on stage.”
Vancouver-based No Island plays what band members call “modern vintage rock” which blurs the genre lines between the classic rock sounds of the 1970s and modern indie.
Bringing the band up to Powell River was a great way to prepare for its two-month summer tour, Rice said. The tour was as much about reuniting with friends and family as it was about the music. He said they had a place to stay just about every night from Calgary through to Halifax.
The band’s Montreal show sticks out as a highlight for Rice. “It was my birthday and we played in this packed basement of a youth hostel,” he said. “It was one of those gigs that you book and think it’s okay, but then totally exceeds expectations.” By the end of the show, he said the crowd was yelling their name.
“We were fired up that night,” he said. “It’s the ones that you don’t expect that are the most rewarding.”
Despite crossing the country without hitting a moose or having their van break down on any desolate stretches of road, the Prairies did offer a scary experience. The band was playing at a hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, when their van became part of a crime scene.
“Somebody got assaulted against the side of our van,” he said.
When the police arrived the band had to stay because their van was evidence in the assault.
The band is focusing on writing songs and recording an album.
Rice is excited to be back singing choral music. “It’s going to be nice to do this because I have a classical music upbringing,” he said. “I went to Vancouver for jazz music school and ended up in a rock band—some serious genre skipping.”
Doors open at 7 pm and the performance will begin at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12 in advance available through choir members, at Rockit Music (6820 Alberni Street) or $15 at the door. Children 10 and under are admitted for free. For more information about the evening, readers can contact chorus president Janice Gunn 604.485.3825.
