Tay Valley Community Choir raises voices and lifts spirits

Dec 11, 2019

It was cold, and dark, last Friday night, but that didn't stop the crowd from coming out and packing the Maberly Hall for the Tay Valley Community Choir's annual Christmas concert.  

The choir's first number, which I partially missed, because I arrived fashionably late, was, from all accounts, one of the best of the evening and a great way to get the evening underway.  This piece was a medley called 'Jingle Bells through the Ages'.  It included many tunes and mini solos and ensembles from the choir, including a cameo appearance from Elvis himself, as Eric Zeigler rocked the mutton chops and mimicked the voice of the king, to the delight of the audience.

There were many participatory opportunities throughout the evening.  The audience was given song sheets and were highly encouraged to sing along a number of times.  This really added to the fun of the evening, we weren't just watching, we were part of it. There were no long, drawn out versions of any of the carols.  They were shortened to a few key verses, and this really helped to keep the evening rolling along.

The songs were varied, from beautiful old ones sung in Latin, to dynamic renditions of more modern tunes, like 'Whisper, Whisper' and 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' (complete with a real life grinch, Fred Barrett, coming out and scaring the audience. Even the choir's deft piano player, Mary Lou Carrol, leapt from her seat in a frightful scream). 

There were tunes sung in solos, small ensembles, and with the entire choir.  Some of these soloists were: Marily Seitz, Anne Thomlison, Sheila Kroetsch, Ted Bryant, Virginia Beckett, and Kathy Doornekamp.  A solstice carol, and a calypso Christmas lullaby were included in the mix.  There was even a funny skit involving two of Santa's elves, Robin Jones and Kim Bonner.  

After the intermission, local group, Fiddlers and Friends, took the stage to breeze through a short and varied set of a few of their favourite instrumental tunes.  The group was quite well received.  (I know this, as I am a member of this group.)  The choir and audience joined in on their final tune, Lullaby Noel.

One of the highlights of the night, was when choir director, Rebecca Worden, accompanied by choir member Faith Hutton on harp, sang two hymns, demonstrating at once Worden's vocal prowess, and the sensitivity of Hutton's playing.  Another highlight was Night of Silence/Silent Night, one of the choir's final songs.  These two songs were sung counterpoint, where a harmony was created by the two melodies being sung simultaneously by different voices in the choir; and in the last verse, the voices of the audience came in as well. 

To top it off, at the end of the concert, the audience was invited to stay to schmooze and to enjoy the many varied culinary offerings that choir members had brought to share.  The performance lifted our spirits and kept us warm, as we all left the hall to go back into that cold night. 

The choir is always happy to have new members.  Anyone interested should contact Rebecca Worden for information. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call: (613) 264-1458.