Creemore Choral Festival pairs youth and wisdom
The Creemore Choral Festival brings together the youthful genius of Mozart and the timeless wisdom of Haydn.
The music of the two composers will be performed by the 35-voice Creemore Choral Festival Singers this Saturday, June 4, directed by Thomas Bell.
The choir, ranging in age from 17 to 80-something, includes a number of soloists, along with a professional orchestra, The Talisker Players.
“We’re going to do [Mozart’s] very first symphony which he wrote when he was eight years old and is just an outstanding piece of music, incredible for one who is so young,” said Bell. “It really shows his genius at such a young age and it is very rarely performed.”
They will follow it with Mozart’s first piece of choral music, Vesperae Solenne de Confessore, and the first half of the show finishes with his last piece of choral music, Ave Verum.
Bell said the first choral piece is a short one, written by Mozart while he was in London. The latter, has a delightful sadness, said Bell, and was written shortly before he died at the age of 34.
The second half of the program is dedicated to Haydn’s Nelson Mass, named for Lord Nelson and written at a time when Napoleon was going to invade Austria.
“The trumpets and the drums in the choral music, in the mass, reflect the impending invasion and it’s a very exciting, dramatic piece,” said Bell of the music written toward the end of Haydn’s life.
In its second year, the Creemore Choral Festival was conceived by area part time resident Alex Miller, who is originally from Creemore and was inspired to bring choral music to his hometown.
Miller is a member of the St. Paul’s Anglican Church choir, which has put on annual performances in Creemore. Many of its members, joined by other singers, will form the Creemore Choral Festival Singers during a June 4 performance at St. John’s United Church.
“Last year’s concert was a phenomenal success, it really was. It was everything we wished it to be,” said Bell, who is also the musical director of the St. Paul’s choir. He is also a composer, teacher and artistic director and founder of the Aslan Boys Choir.
Bell said there are plans to expand the festival, adding community singing events “using music to bring young and old together.”
“I would love for the festival to bring the generations together,” he said.
The Creemore Choral Festival Singers’ performance, titled Youthful Genius, Timeless Wisdom, is at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for general admission, $35 for reserved seating and $20 for seniors and students. To purchase tickets online, visit creemorechoralfestival.ca. Tickets will also be available at Curiosity House Books and at the door.
There will be a free open rehearsal at 3 p.m.
