A number of representatives from the United Voices of Edmonton Choir were in Athabasca last Friday on reconnaissance at the United Church.
The purpose of their visit was to investigate the acoustics, examine the organs and to pore over the program for logistics.
The choir will be performing at Athabasca United Church on May 18 in a concert the group is calling “100 Years of Song,” as part of the Church’s centennial celebrations.
By incorporating hymns into the program, the group looks forward to inciting audience participation.
“(What) I think is so great about this invitation is the ability to discover the history of Athabasca, and particularly the history of the church,” said Marg McKenzie, an alto singer from the Knox-Metropolitan Choir.
“The (Athabasca) United Church has a very, very interesting history, so celebrating the 100-year anniversary has really been great,” said McKenzie.
Co-directed by Warren Mack, music director of the Knox Metropolitan Choir and Tammy-Jo Mortensen, director of music at Robertson Wesley for the past 10 years, the choir has performed numerous times together, including a trip to the UK in the summer of 2011.
“It’s just going to be a jolly good celebration. The spirit will be right up there and everybody here is right into it, and that will bring our group right up into that ‘high zone,’ and I just think it’s going to be a really fun celebration and we’re pleased that they asked us (to come),” said Mack.
United Voices of Edmonton is about 35 singers strong and made up of three choirs – the Knox-Metropolitan United Church Choir, the Willan Choral Choir (both directed by Mack), and the Robertson-Wesley United Church Choir (directed by Mortensen).
The two choirs would periodically come together to perform, and in 2010, upon the request of a member of the Knox Metropolitan Choir, the two groups joined forces to form the United Voices of Edmonton.
Mortensen, who holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Alberta and a Master of Music degree in pipe organ performance at McGill University, “has an extensive church music background as music director, organist and pianist, (and) choir director of music at Robertson Wesley.”
