More beautiful music is coming Estevan’s way.
The Southeast and Northwest Chorus started practising for their 49th annual performances as early as the second Tuesday of September, and by now they are just mastering the final notes. The two concerts are scheduled to take place on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church in Estevan, and on Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at Concordia Lutheran Church in Crosby, N.D.
“Every Tuesday we’ve been practising in Crosby, and it’s coming on really good. We are almost ready for our concert. Only two weeks are left, and all our hard paces are getting figured out,” said Wilma Mantei, who is the spokesperson of the Southeast Chorus Association.
There are 55 members from Canada and the U.S. participating in the choir. Every year the directors – Shauna Meek of Estevan and Crosby’s Harlan Johnson – come up with a new theme and the program for the dedicated participants and loyal admirers, appreciating the choir’s art.
This year's theme is called A Star is Born.
“We have lots of beautiful songs like Hallelujah! Christ is Born, How Far is It to Bethlehem, a lot of Bethlehem songs,” said Mantei.
“And a beautiful one that’s called Shepherds’ Dance, it’s a Bach one. It’s really nice. And it’s quick and lively, and it’s beautiful. They all are very beautiful.”
This year the choir also added a humorous twist to the program.
“We have one thrown there as a comedy song. It’s called Ugly Christmas Sweater. We didn’t like it when we first started, but now we like it, it is fun… It adds humour in there,” said Mantei.
There are also some well-known songs like Children Go Where I Send Thee. The program consists of 15 songs, and the choir will end with Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.
“It’s a well-rounded program and people will enjoy it,” said Mantei. “It won’t be a very long one, but it will be a really nice one.”
Estevan’s Danielle Evenson and Allison Holzer will accompany on the piano. There will be an intermission.
Tickets will be available at the door. They are $6 per person, $15 for a family or $3 for Grade 1-8 students, and pre-school is free.
And the week after the concert most members of the choir will also partake in the Rotary Club of Estevan’s Carrol Festival that will be happening on Dec. 15 at St. Paul’s.
“Most of us try to come to that in that choir and sing couple numbers there too,” said Mantei.
