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Spring is officially in the air, and with that comes music associated with the warmer months. The Winnipeg Upper Voices choir will be showcasing those sounds this weekend in South Osborne with a concert called At the Spring Dawn.
For artistic director Katy Harmer, the concert, much like the season it’s singing about, is a chance for renewal and reintroduction for the relatively new ensemble. “We got one season in before the pandemic and then shut down for a few years,” she explained in an interview on Morning Light, “but we’ve been back now for three seasons.”
Comprising of almost 40 singers of any and all genders singing in the upper parts of the voice, the ensemble also intentionally features a lower commitment level than other choirs to encourage anyone to take part. “We’ve been trying out over the past few years rehearsing once a month on Saturdays instead of every week,” says Harmer, noting that the demographic of the choir leans towards people with busy professional lives and young children. “We meet on Saturdays; we have lunch together... it sort of feels like a retreat day and it’s been really nice.”
Harmer has observed that this community-oriented approach to choir has allowed the ensemble to grow exponentially over the last few seasons, as choristers have invited friends to participate in the choir. “Singing together is one of the best ways to create community amongst people and to feel connected to other people,” she smiles. “Probably the second best or maybe equal to is sharing a meal together.”
The organic growth of Winnipeg Upper Voices and the voices that it contains means that the ensemble lends itself well to music about spring. “The fact that they are all sort of in close range with each other is sometimes a really unique thing,” Harmer says of the quality of the voice types in the group, noting that composers gravitate to themes of nature and spring when writing music for this type of ensemble. “With the upper voices, they can really play with the different colours or the fact that the colours are often the same.”
Ahead of the concert, the Winnipeg Upper Voices have been giving audiences a preview of the repertoire by sharing the poetry in the pieces on their social media accounts. Even though they all have a central theme, Harmer is quick to point out how different composers shine a musical light onto different parts of the poetry. “I love how composers look at texts in different ways and how they sort of take different themes and bring them to life,” she says.
At the Spring Dawn will be brought to life by the Winnipeg Upper Voices on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Churchill Park United Church with entry by donation. You can learn more about the choir at their website or on their Instagram page.