Tag: Unisong

Ottawa Tour 2015 – Day 5!

Today we started with the doors to the breakfast hall being locked, so after some confusion and some well placed phone calls by Heather Fradette we got our morning meal in lots of time.

We then walked through Ottawa to get to the national arts centre and got to see some of the prep work for Canada day! Once we arrived we warmed up and started our unisong concert! It was amazing being up on stage with all our new friends and truly singing for the joy of it!

After our 10 AM concert we had some time to go for lunch and walk around down town Ottawa to enjoy the festivities. After lunch we returned to the preforming arts centre and sang/accompanied the national arts centre orchestra. The concert when really well and the absolute highlight was when we were closing the concert with nothing other when ‘Oh Canada’! We were given little paper flags to wave wildly after wards and there was an amazing sense of pride, especially when the crowed cheered and waved their flags and various items with us; It was like nothing else.

After that we had a delicious dinner at a local restaurant and got to go up to parliament hill and see the stage and the street vendors. We then had our final concert. As soon as it was done we hurried back to the hotel to make it back to the centre in time for the fireworks. They were spectacular! We then all headed back to our rooms and headed so bed after an amazing Canada day in the capital.

-XOXO heather and Kyla

July 2, 2015
Ottawa Tour 2015 Day 3!

Today was a very full day, rehearsing en masse with the mind-bogglingly energetic and musically brilliant Dr Sirett. We were especially 8:30 in the morning when the rehearsal started, or six-thirty back home. We would love to learn his secrets. We were a bit bogged down this morning, too, with our formal uniforms for tonight’s choir-to-choir performance.

The school we’re rehearsing in! And some sleepy choristers!

The notations would have made it easy to find our bags… if they hadn’t moved us to a different room.

In three hours, we managed to get through virtually all of our music, and the men even had a sectional. They know French now! We’re so proud. Even after only a few hours of rehearsal, we are really starting to come together as a mass choir under Dr. Sirett’s marvellous management. (He truly is a splendid dictator…er I mean director.) Why don’t you have a listen and see (hear) for yourself! Do we sound cohesive yet? Let us know in the comments down below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhT9HflBei4

After our impressive and slightly (very!) draining three hour rehearsal, we grabbed our bag lunches and dashed to the bus, making our (frenzied) way to the War Museum.

Can you see the sleepiness or are we good actors?It’s always difficult to write about moving and painful topics like the one covered in the museum, but the choir handled it pretty gracefully. We did see lots and lots of interesting artefacts, including battlefield surgical kits from several historical wars, an honest-to-goodness Swastika flag captured by Canadian soldiers in the Second World War, and a piece of the Berlin Wall gifted to Canada by Germany after the end of the Cold War.

Oh, we also saw one of Hitler’s parade cars, which is a remarkably imposing vehicle before one considers who used it. Once that is taken into account, it becomes more than a little bit frightening. It was in incredibly good condition, with only one shattered window. Frankly, given who it belonged to, we’re surprised that such a vehicle survived.

Some of the most moving parts of the experience were the WWI and WWII exhibits, which were especially poignant because of the personal accounts and vivid scenery recreations.

Another sobering and thought-provoking aspect of the museum was Memorial Hall, a simple but beautifully designed tribute to fallen Canadians.

Memorial Hall is set up so the sun entering through the window hits the tombstone at 11/11/11, and the permanent ‘shadow’ on the ground runs all the way through the lobby and out the building.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in another rehearsal, much like the first, only sleepier and fortunately shorter.

After dinner, we got ready for the individual choir performances. It was lovely to hear our newfound friends singing on their own. Apparently we sounded great too!

Rehearsing…

Performing!

After the concert, we headed back to our dorms, and bed.

Our one-of-a-kind T-shirts have received a lot of positive attention. Thanks Kat!

– Victoria and Nicole

July 1, 2015
Ottawa Tour 2015 Day 4!

We started the day bright and early with an 8:30 rehearsal with Dr. Sirett, tired and groggy from “the grog”, the music woke us up.

After a lunch on the fly, the bus took us by 22 Sussex Drive, and the Governor General’s house, en route to the Royal Canadian Mint.

After a tour of the inner workings, and a strong man contest with a gold bar, we headed to the National Arts Centre for a rehearsal with the orchestra.

Following the rehearsal, we had some free time, where we walked past the War Memorial, as well as around the By Ward Market, enjoying Beaver Tails, Iced Cream, and Obama Cookies; and even singing a song in the square.

We then proceeded to head back to the NAC for dinner, before one more rehearsal with Dr. Sirett.

We’re ready. Three concerts tomorrow, where we will sing our hearts out, and wave our flags high and proud.

– Robbie, Josh, Matt, Paul, and Patrick

June 30, 2015
Ottawa 2015 Tour – Day 1

What a day! Starting off bright and early, we met at the Calgary airport at 8:10 am.

We took off right before noon. The flight was a little bumpy, but fun all the same! Granola bars and good company got us through the long flight.

Arriving in Ottawa, we saw it was cloudy and cool, which is honestly a bit of a relief from the hot weather back home. After singing together on the way to our dorms and eating some well deserved pizza, our first day on tour comes to a close.

-Kasia DeSorcy

June 27, 2015
Ottawa 2015 Tour Shirts!

The Calgary Children’s Choir is very lucky to have a wonderful artist as part of our staff. Our Creative Consultant, Kat Long-Jones, recently created three new t-shirt designs for the choir to wear on our upcoming tour to the Unisong Choral Festival this summer!

Kat designed these three t-shirts to be something the choristers would want to wear after tour was over, and to serve as a reminder of the fantastic time had on tour!

Kat chose the national animal of Canada, the beaver, for the first design. Since beaver tails have such an interesting texture, Kat elected to modify the tail to include the Calgary Children’s Choir kilt pattern! The beaver is depicted holding a flag heralding the choir, and our upcoming tour destination!

In this design, Kat was inspired by the popular collegiate-style t-shirts. She created a replica of the Canadian flag, using black and red text. The writing on the shirt contains the lyrics from the songs the Calgary Children’s Choir will be singing on tour. This shirt is meant to convey that the Unisong Choral Festival, and our wonderful Canadian nation is made up of music, and communities coming together.

The third design features an Inukshuk, a symbol from our northern First Nations people, and a symbol which is recognized around the world as Canadian. The Inukshuk is built as a physical marker for travellers, but also a spiritual reminder of safe journeys, and the way home. Kat designed this shirt with our choristers in mind, as they travel away from their families to represent our choir on the national stage. The Calgary Children’s Choir logo is seen as a sihouette in the moon – Singing For The Joy Of It!

Our choristers got to see their new tour shirts at our recent choir workshop!

Many thanks to Kat Long-Jones for these beautiful designs!

Which t-shirt design is your favourite? Tell us in the comments below!

May 11, 2015