Sunday, May 12 / 2:30 p.m.
This Mother’s Day St. Andrew’s United in Pakenham is delighted to host, Aella Choir. Aella (pronounced eye-lah) will be performing ROOTS – the final concert of their 2023-24 season.
ROOTS celebrates both the joys and the challenges of family connections. It is about beginnings, endings, and the legacy of our loved ones. Through songs about birth, childhood, parents and parenthood, Aella will celebrate and honour those who cared for us and nurtured us as we grew.
The centrepiece of this concert is the debut of a new work by Franco-Ontarian composer Marie-Claire Saindon. “La valse de Marie” was composed in loving memory and celebration of Marie Paquette-Rivard: maman to Aella member, Josée Rivard, and much-loved choir mom to us all.
Admittance is a freewill donation as part of Aella’s mandate to make high quality musical performances accessible to everyone. Your donation can be made until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at: https://t.ly/8ED3s — and at the door by credit, debit, or cash.
Aella Choir is an upper-voice ensemble founded by Artistic Director Jennifer Berntson, which initially started as a pick-up choir for a single concert in 2016. It operates in Ottawa, Ontario, on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people. The ensemble has been described as “everything a modern choir should be – innovative, technically precise, joyous, comforting and representative” (Andrew Riddles, Classical Ottawa) and “like a battle scene from Game of Thrones although with far less violence” (Blake Edwards, a fan). Its members, more specifically, have been called “fierce” (Giacomo Panico, CBC) and “abnormally close” (Aella member). They enjoy singing a mix of genres – from traditional choral repertoire, to challenging contemporary music, to pop – but mostly, they enjoy singing with each other. You can learn more about the choir at http://www.aellachoir.com/.
