Welsh choir to kick off St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Maple Ridge

The Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir will be launching a week of Celtic music and activities in Maple Ridge in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day.

Our Hearts In The Highland will be directed by Jonathan Quick will feature both new and familiar songs – including some pub songs sung with “gusto”.

Pianist Karen Lee-Morlang will be joined by guest soloist alto Ren Zhang – the choir’s 2023 student bursary recipient – and Krystal Morrison on the clarinet, accompanied by the tenor, baritone, and bass voices of the choir.

The choir prides itself on their Welsh heritage and honours it by performing some songs like Cymru Fach in Welsh.

However, most of the program will be performed in English including audience favourites like Loch Lomond, Skye Boat Song, and Londonderry Air popularly known as Danny Boy, two songs from the Canadian Maritimes, and others.

The choir is in its 43rd year and performs a wide repertoire of both traditional and contemporary choral music, sung in four-part harmony – as traditional with a Welsh choir.

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“Its performances reflect a Celtic musical heritage, evoking images of other places and other times from the solemnity of cathedrals to the camaraderie of the local pub,” read a description online. “Yet, the choir is always ready to stretch the boundaries of tradition to include new music that reflects the broad range of ethnicities that comprise the choir and its communities, passing along a love of song to the young performers that it supports.”

The Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, at the ACT Arts Centre, 11944 Haney Place in Maple Ridge.

For more information or to purchase tickets go to theactmapleridge.org/our-hearts-in-the-highlands or at vancouverchoir.ca or by calling 604-476-2787.