Celebrating northern music
This season, in addition to the regular grouping of sixteen singers, we will perform as a choir of ten, twenty-four and thirty-two … or, actually, eighty if you count the volunteer singers!
Kari Turunen
When the Vancouver Chamber Choir takes the stage at the Whitehorse United Church on Saturday, Oct. 18, they will bring a program crafted to celebrate the North. The event is organized by Whitehorse Concerts. The Vancouver Chamber Choir will join forces with the Whitehorse Chamber Choir in three works, says Kari Turunen, artistic director of the Vancouver Chamber Choir.
The Vancouver Chamber Choir is Canada’s longest-running professional choir, founded in 1971. It was honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, by Chorus America, among other awards, and presented concerts all over the world. For Turunen, a native of Finland, coming to Whitehorse is something special.
“Our Yukon program was definitely constructed around a theme … the North. This means that most of the composers presented are from the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including Canada and the Baltic countries. Many of the works also feature natural phenomena from the North such as snow, northern lights and even the cold that sets in during the fall,” explains Turunen.
It’s a program that resonates very well in communities where such visits are rare cultural events. “I often feel that the most meaningful concerts are the ones in places where the visit of a professional choir is the exception, not the rule,” he adds. “There is often a stronger connection to the audience and a stronger feeling of presence from the singers as well.”
The connection runs even deeper: one of the featured composers, Carmen Braden, was born in Whitehorse and raised in Yellowknife. She is a lifelong northerner whose compositions capture the landscape and feeling of Canada’s Sub-Arctic. Her award-winning work has earned national recognition.
“And the fact that we join forces with the Whitehorse Chamber Choir, in three works, creates additional ties to the community,” he says. The focus on meaningful connections reflects what makes the Vancouver Chamber Choir unique among other ensembles. The choir has premiered nearly 400 works by Canadian composers. At just 16 core members, it is smaller than most choirs, but the size leaves room for flexibility.
When Turunen became artistic director in 2019, he made one objective change by bringing the number of core singers down to 16, but then allowing for the group to expand or contract, according to the music.
“This season, in addition to the regular grouping of sixteen singers, we will perform as a choir of ten, twenty-four and thirty-two … or, actually, eighty if you count the volunteer singers!” But flexibility in size is just one feature.
Other things that set the choir apart are that they have a continuous local presence through both the number of concerts in Vancouver and the outreach programs. “Our programming profile tends to be a little broader than that of many peer organizations,” Turunen says.
This broad programming approach is evident in Turunen’s focus on contemporary music from the Nordic and Baltic countries, since becoming director. “I also believe that the music we sing is more diverse, both in style and as far as the creators of it are concerned. I am very determined to build bridges and cooperate, and I hope that brings about something of a change in how people see the choir nowadays.” Community is another part of the success of the choir: “I think we are quite happy together, and that is a huge achievement in itself.”
The concert is exactly the kind of meaningful connection Turunen values most: bringing music that celebrates the North to an audience that lives in this unique place every day.
The concert will take place Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Whitehorse United Church, promising an evening where northern themes, local connection and world-class performance come together in a musical celebration. Visit eventbrite.ca to purchase tickets.
