Submitted by Peter Robb
A 10th anniversary is something worth marking.
For a community choir, the gift of music is what matters on these important dates and Rideau Chorale’s 10th anniversary gift is a December performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Rideau Chorale began as the Tuesday Choir in the Ottawa Folklore Centre, an informal collection of interested singers working mainly on pop and folk pieces.
In 2014, Roland Graham, director of music at Southminster Church assumed leadership of the group. Within a year the Folklore Centre had closed, but, after discussion with the singers, Graham led the group into a new incarnation called the Rideau Chorale. The group pivoted to focus on classical works, beginning with a 2016 performance of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
Since then, the choir has grown to some 60 members from across Ottawa and West Quebec.
“The Rideau Chorale is a lovely community of people and I really enjoy stretching my abilities and technique,” says tenor Janice Manchee, the current Chair of Rideau Chorale.
Tim Schobert, a member of the bass section, says the choir provides a great addition to his retirement activities.
A chorister since the early days, he says he has “enjoyed classical music since early childhood and the choir enhances and broadens my experience of this wonderful genre of music.” To prove his commitment to the form, Schobert has started and maintains classymusic.ca which offers a comprehensive listing of classical performances in the city.
His personal musical highlight with Rideau Chorale was a performance of Brahms’ A German Requiem, “a truly spiritual journey.”
He adds he is looking forward very much to performing Messiah.
The choir has tackled a wide range of repertoire from composers such as Handel, Mozart, Duruflé, Fauré, Palestrina, Rutter, Haydn, Vaughn Williams and Charpentier, not to mention pieces written or arranged for them by local composers.
Graham stepped away from the choir in 2022. After a brief job search, Kevin Reeves, who founded the Seventeen Voyces ensemble and who has worked with several choirs in the Ottawa area, took the baton.
For the 10th Anniversary, Reeves decided to return to Messiah. Despite being performed many times by many choirs in many venues since its debut in Dublin, Ireland in 1742, the oratorio seems new and fresh in every performance.
For Reeves: “There is so much nutrition within those pages.
“This is the beginning of my third season with the ensemble, and I’m constantly buoyed by the sheer enthusiasm of its singers. When I announced the prospect of singing Messiah for the anniversary, I was worried about a lacklustre response. But no, I received a chorus of polyphonic cheers.”
In the performance, the choir will be joined by soloists: soprano Ania Hejnar, counter tenor Mark Donnelly, tenor Jean-Philippe Lazure, bass Alisdair Campbell and a small orchestra. A graduate of Ottawa’s School of Dance, Sarah Zaugg, will perform during the Pastorale.
“We know this work is crowd-pleaser, but we want to make this a particularly special event, for our anniversary and for our audience,” Manchee said.
Rideau Chorale will perform Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Southminster United Church. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are available at https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/rideau-chorale-messiah
Information about Rideau Chorale and its upcoming performances can be found at rideauchorale.com. Peter Robb sings tenor with Rideau Chorale.