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Giving voice to the art of choirs

There comes a time when singing by yourself — whether in the shower, bedroom or basement — just doesn’t cut it anymore.That’s the time to consider joining your voice with others in a community chorus, say young members of Red Deer’s ihana choir, under artistic director Lisa Ward.
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Under the direction of choir director Lisa Ward

There comes a time when singing by yourself — whether in the shower, bedroom or basement — just doesn’t cut it anymore.

That’s the time to consider joining your voice with others in a community chorus, say young members of Red Deer’s ihana choir, under artistic director Lisa Ward.

When asked what’s hooked them on ihana (a Finnish word for wonderful), the teens came up with: The energetic group dynamic; the easy camaraderie between members; and the chance to hone their vocals on more than just simple pop tunes.

“It’s a lot more than I thought it would be. Besides the great music, I love the people in it. We’re like one big, gigantic family and everyone gets along and is really accepting,” said Lacombe’s Alesha Bernatsky, 17.

“I like the commitment. And the music is great and very challenging,” said Keenan Nooskey, 19, of Red Deer.

For instance, Ubi Caritas is a Gregorian chant the ihana youth choir will perform in Latin at the Sing into Spring concert on Friday, May 10, at Living Stones Church. (Ward’s Soliloquy adult mixed chorus and Brioso children’s choir will also sing at the concert.)

Crooning in Latin means having to watch your vowel shapes, said 17-year-old Derek Chahley. He noted the As must be pronounced full and round, as in Ava Maria, and not nasal and flat, as in apple.

“It’s a challenge. Normally people our age get easier songs,” added Chahley, who has been singing under Ward’s direction for four years — first as a Grade 9 student at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, then as a member of the ihana youth choir when Ward took early retirement from the school and started three new community singing groups.

“When she retired I said, ‘I enjoy your teaching so much, I’ll follow you,’ ” said Chahley, who loves that the weekly practices hone his hearing as well as singing skills.

Some of the harmonies the choir tackles are so subtle, he added, you have to really listen to those around you and concentrate to separate your part from somebody else’s. “It’s almost operatic, but it’s not.”

Ward began ihana in 2010, the same year she started the It’s Time vocal jazz ensemble. She had founded Soliloquy in 2004, and would start Brioso on 2013 — all with the idea of offering singing as a communal experience.

“My earliest memories are of my mom singing,” said Ward, who grew up in the 1970s on a Saskatchewan farm. Her musical mother, Carol van De Woestyne, used to perform and play guitar with Glory-Anne Carriere (who later married and sang with Ronnie Prophet).

The two women would harmonize at church and community functions, such as the grand opening of Weyburn’s grain terminal.

“They wrote a song and had it recorded for the opening,” recalled Ward, who considers her mother, an admirer of Simon and Garfunkel and the Everly Brothers, her earliest musical influence. “She’s also been my biggest supporter and biggest fan.”

When Ward’s small rural school didn’t have a choir, her mom started up a community choir in Benson, Sask. And Ward has enjoyed singing ever since.

After graduating from Dickenson State University in North Dakota, Ward taught music and other subjects. She was at Lindsay Thurber for 21 years before retiring in 2010.

“I loved my years there,” said the former teacher, who twice took student choirs to Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as music festivals in places such as California. But she eventually felt it was time to “offer music to the entire community.

“When you are involved with music, it keeps you alive,” said Ward, whose various choir members range from five years old to 70-something.

Joining her choirs requires going through an informal audition process, but Ward said people who aren’t immediately accepted are referred to private or group lessons to train their ears. “We meet them at the level where they’re at. ...”

The Sing into Spring concert will offer everything from folk songs (Blood on the Saddle and The Alberta Homesteader) to classical and Renaissance music, to world music (the African Lord’s Prayer, Baba Yetu, and Spanish Bolero). Members of the Rosedale Valley Strings from Lacombe will accompany the singers on some tunes.

Ward believes attending the concert would be a great way to discover whether joining one of the choirs is of interest.

Eighteen-year-old Amanda Schatschneider, of ihana, is looking forward to performing different types of music.

She credits Ward’s instruction, along with the musically advanced material the group tackles for really helping her vocal development.

Tickets for the 7 p.m. Sing into Spring concert at Living Stones Church, featuring Soliloquy, ihana and Brioso, are $15 at door or from a choir member.

Ward’s vocal jazz ensemble, It’s Time, will perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, at Living Stones Church. Tickets are $20 at the door and include dessert. This is a benefit concert and silent auction to raise money to buy new microphone equipment for the ensemble.

Anyone interested in joining one of Ward’s choirs under the Choral Singers Unite Society can call 403-309-3032 for more information, or visit www.csusreddeer.com.

lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com