The Foothills Philharmonic Society is gearing up for another season this September.
Their vision is to bring beautiful music to the Foothills, explains the Director of the Foothills Philharmonic Junior Singers, Jeff Hibberd.
"We have a really rich group of musicians here in the Foothills area, whether it’s Okotoks, Nanton, High River, Diamond Valley, there are a tonne of wonderful and talented musicians in this area and we are of the belief that music is for everyone and there is an ensemble in this society for you."
The organization, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has several ensembles, including their Chorus, Men's Chorus, Vocal Jazz, and Orchestra.
They also added the Junior Singers last year, which is comprised of two groups, Prelude (ages 6-7) and Cantabile (ages 8-12).
They have two seasons each year, one running from September to December and the other from January to May or June.
Each ensemble meets for about two hours once a week, with the exception of the Junior Singers, who meet for about an hour.
They also hold concerts every few months with concerts toward the end of each season.
Tim Korthuis, co-founder of the society and conductor of the Philharmonic and Chamber Choruses, says one of the goals when the first chorus ensemble was created was to equip anyone who wants to sing with the skills to do so.
"We do lots of teaching of musicianship. How to read music, how to sing properly. In the choir, there will be people who look at a piece of music and go ‘What do the dots mean?’ Then you’ll have someone next to them who’s been a professional singer for 20 years. It's very established in the society and all the ensembles that if you are very experienced and skilled, help your neighbour out. We've really built a culture where more experienced musicians want to help less experienced musicians."
To that end, Korthuis says the chorus is a great fit for anyone feeling apprehensive or scared of singing in public, especially since there's no audition process for those ensembles.
"If people are scared to try it out, come to chorus, because in chorus, it's 40-60 people. You come, you sit in there, no one's calling you out, no one's going 'You, you're new, stand up and sing things!' You sit in the midst of everyone, and if you don't know how to read music, you go 'I'm going to sing what the person next me is singing.' Over time it builds confidence and skill where all of a sudden you go 'Oh, I'm enjoying this, it's no longer scary.'"
For more experienced musicians, the society's Director Sarah McLean says there are a few options as well.
"We do have an ensemble for everyone, so if somebody is, perhaps, a more advanced musician, there are higher level choral things they can be doing, we always try and do auditions from within for solo parts, and the orchestra is auditioned. We ask musicians to have around a Royal Conservatory Level 8 just so we can play standard orchestral pieces together."
The Junior Singers will be heading into their second season this September.
Hibberd says the first season saw a great response.
"We had a fabulous first season. We were hoping for maybe 20 or so people and we ended up getting 35 by the end of the season between the two ensembles. Slightly more of the older kids, grade three to six age, than the younger kids, but a pretty even split. The kids had such a great time. We had some kids who had never been in a choir before, had never done a tonne of singing outside the house before. One of the biggest joys we had, the adults running that ensemble with me, was watching some of these kids who have never had that opportunity getting to make these friends. They're from all different schools but they're all there for the same reason. Watching some of these really shy kids coming out of their shells, that was fantastic."
For anyone who's even remotely interested, Mclean says you're welcome to stop by.
"If somebody is unsure or saying 'I've never sung in a choir,' or 'I don't know if I'm at the right level for the orchestra,' register or come out and sit through a rehearsal, we'll figure out what's a good fit."