Month: December 2021

Stories of Christmas

Originally intended to be in-person, the Amabile Boys & Men’s Choirs concert was transitioned to virtual viewing by recommendation of the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Our choirs rose to the challenge on December 14th as, physically distanced, masked, and candy-cane-infused, they were able to record their holiday programs. This recorded performance was available for free, starting December 19th, for audiences to view at home. Primus had audio recorded their pieces previously and were presented as a listening-only set.

Though audiences were not physically present during the recording, our choristers performed like their friends and family were filling the pews of First-St. Andrews United Church. The sweet sounds of the Amabile Treble Choir singing Somewhere in my Memory, most recognizable from the beloved Christmas movie Home Alone, will live in the memories of virtual views for years to come.

Performances like this require the generous work of so many in our community.

A huge heartfelt thank you to our choristers and their families for their understanding and grace as we transitioned to online viewing.

We would also like to thank our artistic staff for tirelessly working to ensure our chorister’s efforts were heard. Thank you to our conductors; Carol Beynon, Mark Payne, Jeff Beynon, John Vermue, and Lydia Kendell, and our accompanists Rosemary Bannerman and Denise Jung. Thank you, as well, to our ABMC Executive Volunteers who give so much and, of whom, we would be lost without.

Our deepest thank you to Mark Payne for giving his time to record and edit this virtual performance during such a busy season. We appreciate you.

 

 

Finest Gifts! Celebrate!

This year, Da Capo, the Junior Amabile Singers, the Amabile Youth Singers, and Prima Amabile Women’s Choir joined forces to ring in the holiday season. Though their concert, Finest Gifts! Celebrate!, was originally intended for in-person audiences, it was transitioned to a virtual event by recommendation of the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

On December 12th, each choir had the chance to record their programs live at First-St- Andrew’s United Church. For many of our choristers, this was the first time they have performed concert repertoire as an ensemble since the pandemic. The excitement and anticipation was evident in their performance. Magic was in the air as the sounds of their blended voices rang through the church.

The virtual concert experience was available for friends and family from December 16th to 25th. Audiences had the chance to enjoy holiday classics, like Hark the Harold Angel’s Sing, and beloved Amaible staples, like Bob Chilcott’s Dona Nobis Pacem, from the comforts of their own homes.

So many people helped make this concert as special and successful as it was.

We would first like to extend a huge thank you to our choristers and their families for being so understanding as we transitioned our concert to virtual viewing. The Amabile family is made of incredibly generous and kind hearts and we are forever grateful.

Programs like this are made possible by the continuous work of our artistic staff. We’d like to thank the AGWC conductors; Brenda Zadorsky, Jackie Norman, Tammy Reese, and Wendy Landon, and accompanists; Rachel Wohlgemut and Hayoon Kim. This also marks the last concert that conductor Wendy Landon will be performing with Amabile as she will be retiring after 21 years with the organization. Thank you to Wendy for all the work she has done for Amabile and all the lives she has touched through her passion for music and education.

During this program, we also had the wonderful opportunity to work with local instrumentalists. We would like to thank clarinetist, and AGWC President, Amanda Palmer, flutist, and Prima member, Aruni Samarabandu, and cellist Patrick Theriault for your collaborations.

Finally, a very special thank you to First-St. Andrew’s United Church for hosting us and the First-St. Andrew’s videography team Kathryn Skelly, Merran Neville, and Jim Silcox, for generously giving their time and helping us ensure that audiences could see the incredible work of our choristers.