Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
The Prince Albert Concert Choir looked to the natural elements for inspiration when creating a theme for their next concert.
The local group will perform ‘From Earth to Air: Songs of the Elements’ at Calvary United Church on Friday.
Choir director Perry Acorn said the elements connect with the seasons and traditional themes of knowing, and that fit well with their musical selections.
“It connects with our world in so many ways, and as we look in our repertoire, the music falls under those four categories,” Acorn said. “Each piece either falls under the category of water, earth, air, or fire. It (the theme) just seemed to choose itself.”
The choir began their rehearsals for the current season on Jan. 13. Acorn said the singers are the greatest group of people you could hope to meet.
“We laugh almost more than we sing,” Acorn said. “They are fun. They work very, very hard and we do our best work. We work as hard as we can, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
Choir president Meghan O’Leary said the group is excited to get back on stage.
“Perry always picks really interesting and deep themes for us to sing,” O’Leary said. “He always picks music that challenges us as a choral group, so we’re all really excite to think about where we are right now versus where we began.”
O’Leary said there’s been an increase in the number of people who want to sing with a choir. Since COVID, O’Leary said there’s been an uptick in the number of people looking to express themselves creatively, and the PA Concert Choir has benefited.
“Every semester we’re getting more and more people join us,” she said. “We put out an open call in the fall and in the winter time for new members to join us. We’re always welcoming new people.”
O’Leary said the selections for Friday’s concert will focus on hope and light. She said she loves harmony, and loves being a part of the group.
“It’s not just the musical harmony. It’s the harmony between all of the members,” she said. “We’re all very friendly with each other. We can joke around. We hang out outside of choir time sometimes as well. We’re just a group of friendly people. We just like being around each other.
‘From Air to Earth: Songs of the Elements’ begins at 7 p.m. at Calvary United Church on Friday, May 9. Admission is available by donation.
-With files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
