Joint choir concert brings Harmony in the Valley

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Rosebud Chorale and the Calgary choir, Harmony through Harmony, will come together for a joint concert, Harmony in the Valley, at Rosebud Church, March 12 at 3 p.m.
Rosebud Chorale is comprised of Rosebud School of the Arts students and directed by Bill Hamm. Harmony through Harmony (HtH) is an organization that brings together its members’ musical gifts and passion with a desire to foster social justice. HtH consists of two 12-member ensembles, both of which will perform at Harmony in the Valley.
“(We) see something that is a deep injustice like sexual exploitation, for example, of children and men and women around the world,” said Reid McLean Wiest, Harmony through Harmony’s creative director, “and say, can we respond to that injustice in a tangible way through something that we’re gifted in and passionate about?”
“It’s rooted in … doing what we think God has to say in (the Bible), as well as what is happening in our world, and some of the injustices that we’ve come face to face with,” McLean Wiest said. “(We’ll be) telling some of that story and how it’s culminated in a group of people who are passionate about music, passionate about creativity, and also passionate about God and the things that break His heart. And looking to do with what He’s placed in our hearts and in our hands.
“People tell us (Harmony through Harmony) is not like a typical choir, where you just sit and hear a bunch of songs. We actually spend a bit of time on focusing on putting together a message and weaving the songs in and among that message.”
That message, he said, “is intended to make people reflect and think and examine their own heads and hearts and story, and take them out of their every day and to think bigger picture, and to think legacy, to think their own contributions, and to either affirm them where they’re at, or challenge them where they could be.”
“It’s very much a celebration of music and a chance to communicate a message of some awareness and some hope and challenge,” he said.
The choirs will both collaborate and listen to each other perform.
“We’re pretty excited about that opportunity to join forces there and have a larger choir sing,” McLean Wiest said. “But we also see this as being a chance to celebrate each other, hear what other groups are doing, learn from each other.”
“We really hope that (Strathmore Times readers) come out to be entertained, encouraged and challenged on March 12,” McLean Wiest said. “We’re looking forward to sharing music and message with them.”
Harmony in the Valley starts at 3 p.m, March 12, in Rosebud Church. The concert is a ticketed event with festival seating. For tickets, call 1-800-267-7553 or go to rosebudtheatre.com.