It's an eccezionale summer for Nove Voce.
The local singing ensemble is basking in the warmth of their win at the Performing Arts B.C. Provincial Festival, they are about to set off to the International Choral Kathaumixw (a worldwide singing festival based in Powell River), and they have a Prince George recital set for Sunday.
The significance of the provincial award weighs positively on the choir's founder and director Robin Norman.
First, the group won the Barbara A. Hagerman Award for community choral groups aged 19 and older. As one of the divisional winners, they were then in the running for the top prize and came away the victors for Best Overall Choral Performance in B.C.
"I did not ever win it before, I don't remember anyone from Prince George winning that award before, at least in my memory," said Norman. "We have been runner up before, we have won our division before, but this is the big granddaddy of the choral awards."
Due to the overwhelming inability for qualified choirs to compete in person - since B.C. is so big, the festival moves each year, and almost all of these choirs are not-for-profit organizations that can't afford to participate on a regular basis - the provincial competitions are entered via recordings. Each choir must compete in their regional music festival in order to be eligible, they have to earn their berth at the provincials, and they are judged on the recordings of their regional performances.
Nove Voce members are interested in doing some networking and experiential learning, so they are entering the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival instead. This touchstone singing event for B.C. has been held biennially since 1984.
"We will see how we stack up, and it's with choirs from all over the world that travel there for this," said Norman. "Kathaumixw is a live competition where everyone brings their A-game. I'm most excited about a children's choir from Austria that is glorious, and Novel Voz from Cuba which is a small group along the lines of Pentatonix doing Cuban rhythms but also just about everything. I can't wait to hear them."
The organizers of Kathaumixw can't wait to host Nove Voce either. Contained in the Prince George group is Julie Howard, and she was in the Bel Canto Youth Choir which, under the direction of Rose Leowen, competed in the very first Kathaumixw.
Norman said she checked with Leowen and according to the elder choir director, the Prince George group also happened to be the first one on the singing schedule back in 1984, so Howard's was literally among the first voices to ever sing at the now famous festival.
"I always recall having been at Kathaumixw. I don't remember much, but I do have a vivid memory of watching a fabulous choir from Uganda," Howard said to the Powell River Peak. "It was my first experience seeing any performers from another culture. I was fascinated by the contrast--their outfits, their movement (they were the first choir I'd seen that moved while they sang, and they were so energetic) the completely different style of sound. To my nine-year-old self they were the best choir I'd ever seen. I still remember them as one of the best in my lifetime."
Howard added that having a highly renowned international festival in "our backyards" is a great opportunity for all singers, but especially young developing ones. "I'm so excited to be returning, to have more Kathuamixw experiences."
To get ready for Kathaumixw, the ensemble is holding a concert on Sunday at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. They will be testing out their material on a live audience before heading off to the pressure in Powell River.
"Because we have some new repertoire, we need to run it a few times, and there's no better training than with a live public audience," said Norman. "We will be competing every morning we're there. We boldly entered every category we could. If you're going to go all that way, you may as well sing. We put a big emphasis on Canadian composers, one of our big numbers is The Log Driver's Waltz. We have one by Allison Girvan who used to live in Prince George - actually she's from Red Rock, no less - and went to PGSS. Her mom was my Home Ec teacher. She lives in Nelson now. We are going to a major B.C. choir competition, there will be other countries and other regions of Canada there, so we wanted to show off B.C. composition talent, because that's just what we do. We are good at this stuff, in this province of ours."
The Sunday concert happens at 7:30 p.m. All are encouraged to come hear top-notch local talent (with the trophies to prove it), give them some human interaction to get them ready for their Powell River competitions, and provide support to get them there.
