Month: March 2019

Vive la Canadienne: A Celebration of Francophone Songs

On Saturday March 23, our four Junior Amabile Choirs were joined by guest choirs: the Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir and the Windsor-Essex Youth Choir to celebrate Canada’s linguistic diversity. With a variety of songs that we could remember from our days in French class, to an energetic hand-clapping step dance performance, the walls of Dundas United Church were filled with laughter and cheer!

It truly takes a village to put together an event like this and we have so many wonderful people to thank.

 

Thank you to the members of the Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir and their conductor Andrea De-Beor Jones, the Windsor-Essex Youth Choir and their  conductor Christine Prosser and accompanist Jim Prosser for coming together with us to put on a spectacular event.

Thank you to David Laidlaw and Meg Foster for being our percussionists for the afternoon.

Thank you to Sophia and Ethan Rosedale for sharing their fantastic step-dancing performance with us – and even teaching our kids in the choirs some moves!

Thank you to our Guest Conductor Linda Beaupre for conducting our final pieces so beautifully!

We would also like to thank our choristers in our junior choirs: Da Capo, Junior Amabile Singers, Treble Training Choir, and Treble Concert Choir, all our organizational staff, artistic staff who helped put together this event. To our conductors: Jackie Norman, Wendy Landon, Kathy McNaughton, John Vermue, Don Sills and Jeff Beynon; and our accompanists: Tristin Hill, Rachel Wohlmegut and Rosemary Bannerman – thank you for all your countless hours of dedication and hard work.

Thank you all the parents and volunteers who put in countless hours to make this event as special as it was.

Finally we would like to thank you, all our supporters who came out in support of our Francophone Festival!

Are you thinking about joining a choir? Ever wonder about why we join choirs, aside from singing and the love of music, what would the benefits joining a choir be? There are plenty of reasons to joining a choir but here are some of the main ones:

Great Repertoire
You get the opportunity to sing a variety of different music genres. From the classics, to the modern music of today – the options are vast and varied so there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

Stress Relief
With the busyness of the day, being able to stop and breathe is a luxury. With choral singing, the practice of sitting upright, relaxing your shoulders and breathing from your diaphragm is a great way to centre yourself.

 

Meeting New People
Joining a choir is a great way to make new, like-minded friends interested in having a good time.

 

Learn to Listen
Develop and enhance your attention skills to the world around you. Whether it be the person singing next to you, or at home or in the workplace, learning to listen and focusing is an important skill to have.

 

Work Out For Your Brain
Music reading skills help increase memory retention, concentration and improve spatial organization.

 

Exercise in Team Work
It’s uplifting to be a part of something positive and being a part of something bigger than you.

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As we can see, there are many reasons to join a choir. At Amabile Choirs, you’ll be able to work with the renowned artistic excellence that has been praised across the country and internationally. With a beyond dedicated team of Artistic Directors, Staff and Volunteers, you won’t just be another singer to us, you become family. At Amabile Choirs, we consider ourselves one big extended family who have been brought together because we love what we do. We love watching every single one of our singers flourish and become amazing people with the skills they develop with us. If you’re interested in joining our musical family, click here to find out how.

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Source for Reasons To Join A Choir.

Happy #InternationalWomensDay to all the incredible women in our lives. From our youngest girls to our adult women choirs, to our conductors, and accompanists (pictured below); to all our volunteers who work behind the scenes, to the volunteers who are at our concerts making sure they operate smoothly, to our board members, families, friends and all our supporters – you continue to inspire us every single day to become more than we can be. We love you.

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On Saturday February 23, 2019, Primus: Amabile Men’s Choir hosted their annual Midwinter Gala at the new Jaguar Land Rover dealership in London.

The men of Primus alongside some spectacular vehicles delighted their guests with an assortment of culinary delicacies that had everyone’s taste buds buzzing. From Fresh Shucked oysters to a beautiful and tasty dessert table, Primus certainly knows how to put on a night that we will not forget!

One thing that was said over and over again, was that the acoustics of the dealership were absolutely phenomenal, and it was proved every time the men sang. In between wonderful hors d’oeuvres, the men of Primus wowed their guests with renditions of classic James Bond tunes, starting with the James Bond Theme, and then continuing through the decades, including Sam Smith’s Writing on the Wall, Goldfinger, and Adele’s Skyfall, which had their voices resonating, the room utterly silent.

We would like to acknowledge everyone who assisted us in making this evening wonderful! Sincere appreciation to Jaguar Land Rover for hosting us, just days after opening their spectacular show room doors to the public. We would like to give a special thank you to Patzees Floral Scapes, Collins Formal Wear, Gordon’s Gold Jewellers, to all the individuals and organizations who donated items and services to our silent auction. We would also like to thank the John Griffiths Quartet (with Mark Payne filling in on the keys) for providing music throughout the night, and to our amazing host: Chris Costello. Thank you for engaging the crowd and keeping us all entertained!

Finally, we ‘d like to thank all of the individuals who bought tickets and came out to support our Midwinter Gala – without you there would be no Midwinter Gala. Thank you ever so much and we look forward to seeing you next year, if not sooner at our concerts!

Scroll down to see photos from this year’s Gala!

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