For the first time in almost 35 years, the Amabile Choirs of London, Canada was not able to gather for its anticipated Holiday Concerts. Following the success and ingenuity of the virtual In Remembrance performance, our singers, staff and choristers came together to present a holiday concert to bring peace, joy, and comfort into homes across the country.
From ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ to ‘The Legend of the Christmas Rose”, this holiday performance brought back familiar favourites, featuring all our singers, from the youngest to the oldest.
This year’s holiday concert was indeed something special. We were incredibly delighted to feature the world premiere of a newly commissioned piece ‘Prayer for the Future’, written by local London composer Jeff Christmas, with lyrics by his mother, Connie. We would like extend our sincerest appreciation for this commission, to former Board Member, and friend of Amabile: Peter Clements, and dedicate this piece to Laura Clements Pin, Amabile’s 1st accompanist.
As always, it takes a village to create any in-house live Amabile concert, and it’s no different for a virtual one! We would like to extend our sincerest thanks, appreciation and gratitude to the following individuals:
- Mark Payne and HOP Studios, for putting together this phenomenal performance;
- Central Optometry, our 2020-2021 Season Sponsors;
- Westmount Shopping Centre, for their generosity in allowing us to spend a cold Saturday in November with our drive-in recording session in their underground parking structure;
- Tamara Rees, for writing a beautiful script;
- Pat Morrison Multimedia, who generously loaned us the use of much media equipment for recording this program;
- Jeff Christmas and Connie Christmas, for their time to compose ‘Prayer for the Future’.
Thank you to our funders, Ontario Arts Council, London Community Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, and the London Arts Council for their support.
To our staff, conductors and accompanists, thank you for your dedication and hard work as we navigate this unprecedented time.
To our volunteers, and parents, thank you for your support and your dedication to helping our choristers put together this holiday special. In times like these, we are incredibly thankful for all you do.
On behalf of the Amabile Choirs of London, Canada, thank you for supporting us in making our projects successful, and for joining us this holiday season. We would like to wish you a safe, and happy holiday season filled with peace, love, comfort and joy.
Scroll down for photos of our singers, and for how we did our drive in recording, click here.
