Oh happy day!
That’s the phrase that most parents will be saying this week as the kids prepare to go back to school (smile).
It might also be the tune Bowen Island Community Choir (BICC) members are still humming. “Oh Happy Day” was the final song of the choir’s 2016 spring concert that had the whole audience singing and grooving along with soloist Maggie Davidson and Mark Gawthrop on piano.
With so many people smiling through the summer to that ear-worm, it’s time to look forward to the choir’s fall session and new songs to capture our musical attention.
It takes a very skilled director to pull together a large group of people with various levels of experience and deliver a polished and entertaining performance.
Ellen MacIntosh, the musical director, started conducting the BICC choir in 1996. She earned her music degree from the University of British Columbia, studying voice and violin. She has performed in many excellent choirs, including the Vancouver Cantata Singers, as well as played stringed instruments in several folk bands.
Her unique talent is just one of the many reasons that this community choir has endured so long on the island and continues to attract new members.
In 2017, the choir will celebrate 25 years of Bowen Islanders gathering together in song and performance.
Why not come and find out what keeps them all coming back for more?
Registration for the choir begins on Wednesday, Sept. 7 and 14 at 7 p.m. in Cate’s Hill Chapel.
The cost is $85 and there is no audition or experience required.
The choir welcomes sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Regular weekly practice will begin on Sept. 7 following registration.
The season culminates with a holiday concert on Dec. 1
