A Saturday with the Yellowknife Choral Society

Posted on 01. Nov, 2009 by Shane in Local Profiles, Music, Music Scene

Rating: +3 (from 3 votes)

The power of the voice can inspire your thoughts, move your body and energize your soul. And that is the experience I had while taking pictures of the Yellowknife Choral Society rehearsal at the Yellowknife Ski Club last weekend. The rehersal, which shook the building with ethereal and exceptionally vivid sounds, was directed by Margo Nightingale and Shad Turner (shown in photos below).

According to tenor Jessica Young the rehearsal included breathing exercises, vocal warm-ups and visualization. She said, “the exercises are meant to connect ‘us’ physically to how to produce the right sound and also open ‘us’ up mentally to be in the music – which influences the sound.”

The choir’s collective sound and the amazing voice of soporano Theresa Pamplin (one of the 14 performers selected to represent the NWT at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver) are still ringing in my ears.

The Yellowknife Choral Society has been singing the highs and lows for 30+ years now. Choir members meet every Tuesday night to rehearse from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Calvary Church. They have four sections including the sopranos, the altos, the tenors and basses that also meet separately on different days. If you are interested in joining the choir you can visit the Yellowknife Choral Society website for more information.

Here are some pictures of the Yellowknife Choral Society practicing songs for the Remembrance day concert at St. Patrick’s Church on the evening of November 10 and at 3:00 pm on November 11. Click on the photos to enlarge the images.