Carrie Tennant can barely list the accolades her band of young singers have snagged in the past week.
The Coastal Sound Youth Choir was crowned the top youth choir and the top choir at the B.C. Performing Arts Festival.
The 60-member choir is one of only two Canadian choirs selected to perform this weekend at the Chorus America conference in Seattle, one of the biggest gatherings of choral conductors and arts administrators on the continent.
That’s in addition to being one of three finalists in the youth choir category for the Canadian Competition for Amateur Choirs.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” says choir director Tennant, a former teacher at Maple Ridge secondary, who is now leading a chorus that features 20 singers from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The choir will be performing with some of the biggest names in choral music at Chorus America.
“The Coastal Sound Youth Choir has become known for their eclectic and creative programming,” says Tennant, who is a member of the Vancouver-based indie-pop group, the Salteens . “This concert is no different.”
Coastal Sound’s Chorus America performance will include a new work by Victoria composer Sarah Quartel, an African-American spiritual (arranged by Diane Loomer), two Estonian pieces, a new work from Finland, something from Sesame Street and Anton Bruckner’s Ave Maria.
The Maple Ridge Secondary School’s junior concert choir, conducted by Denise O’Brien, garnered an honourable mentioned at this year’s B.C. Performing Arts Festival.
The Coastal Sound Youth Choir is one of several ensembles trained by the Coastal Sound Music Academy, which offers choral music programs for everyone from pre-schoolers to adults.
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The youth choir performs a celebration concert June 22 at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver at 7:30 p.m. The concert will also feature the New Westminster Chamber Choir. Admission by donation. The choir is currently hosting auditions for next season’s youth choir. Coastal Sound also has opportunities for younger voices. To book your audition, visit coastalsoundmusic.com/join-a-choir.