PARKSVILLE — A spring concert by the Parksville and District Community Choir will be another performance of a magnificent classic; The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn on Sunday, April 1 at Knox United Church in Parksville.
The Parksville and District Community Choir is celebrating 20 years of making music under the direction of Ann Barber.
Haydn’s greatest oratorio, The Creation, is a celebration of the beginnings of the natural world in all its splendour. The libretto text gives a spectacular account of the formation of the world, from chaos, through the formation of the firmament, the sun, moon and stars, the birds, fishes and animals to Adam and Eve.
Under Barber’s direction, the 55 voice choir will be joined by guest soloists soprano Andrea Sicotte Rodall, tenor David Brown, and baritone Paul Boughen.
Barber completed a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Education in Music at the University of Victoria.
She divides her time between teaching music, science and social studies at a Nanaimo school, as well as some private piano students, conducting a school choir, an a capella group in Parksville (the Cantando Chamber Singers) and the Community Choir.
Singers from all over the Oceanside area have benefited from Barber’s talent and hard work with the choir. Over the years, the choir has performed many of the world’s best-loved, classical choral masterpieces. These challenging works, as well as a variety of lighter choral selections, have given the choir a wonderful opportunity to sing a wide range of repertoire.
The performance on Sunday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. is at Knox United Church, 345 Pym St., Parksville. Tickets are available at Mulberry Bush Bookstores and the door. $15 adults/$12 seniors and students. — Submitted