One of the best reasons to hear the Summer Choir is because you know that everyone is there because they love it. Attendance is not mandatory; some take vacation breaks. Nevertheless at St. Hilda’s Church last weekend, the 19 members of the choral group brought the audience a little Christmas in August when they performed two pieces: Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noel and Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noel. Even if you could not understand the words (in Latin) it was easy to believe these were joyous, celebratory pieces, and the committed performance from several soloists helped to give the works their sacred tone.
The choir was led this summer by David Millard, who managed to play piano and conduct simultaneously – quite a feat. He has been working with choral groups of various abilities for nearly 40 years. He began playing the organ at age 16 at an Anglican church and hasn’t looked back since. His organ lessons were with Bill Bourns of St. Martin’s Anglican Church in North Vancouver, where Millard now holds the position of Director of Music.
“As a church organist of 40 years’ experience,” he notes, “I am accustomed to directing choirs from the organ console. In small parishes, we seldom have the luxury of having someone else either to conduct or play the organ.”
Millard says there is usually a spectrum of abilities in the choirs, ranging from those who cannot read music except to get a sense of where the notes go up and down, to those who can sing the music right away. Most fall in between.
“This year was unusual,” he said, “in that no one in the group had prior experience with these pieces, and therefore, no one could bring memory of past performances to bear in the rehearsals.” He confesses that he was not familiar with the Saint-Saens piece and learned it along with the others. It was suggested by Sara Douglas who co-conducts the choir, except in this case she was away for a month, returning in time to sing at the concert.
Millard will be giving an organ recital at St. Hilda’s in Sechelt on Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. in a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Sechelt with proceeds donated to the Rotary Polio Plus program. Thirty years ago, Rotary International made a commitment to eradicate polio, and through a partnership with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, polio is now endemic in only Pakistan and Afghanistan. The recital is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and available from Sechelt Visitor Centre and Laedeli in Gibsons next week. The music will be Bach and other German Baroque composers.
