Aeolian Singers to perform a concert

The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) will present After Hours: A FUNdraiser with the Aeolian Singers on Saturday, March 9 from 7 – 9:00 p.m. at the Bethany United Church Fellowship Hall (2669 Joseph Howe Drive). Parking is available behind the church on Clinton Avenue or across the street.

Halifax Gay Mens Chorus

Daniel Matto

Holly Arsenault

Karen Myatt

This musical fundraiser features great music, wine (cash bar), delicious savory snacks and both a silent and live auction.

Musical guest include the well-known jazz siren, Karen Myatt and brilliant jazz pianist, Holly Arsenault, sultry crooner, Daniel Matto; the first performance of the new Halifax Gay Men’s Chorus, + the Aeolian Singers.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (general seating), and can be purchased from choir members, online (aeoliansingers.ca), or by calling (902) 229-0044. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. You must be 19 years of age or older to attend.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Present Atlantic Blue at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) will present Atlantic Blue on Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The performance features songs that tell stories of the sea, and communicate the power of the ocean over us – including tragedies, triumphs, loved ones lost and gained.

They will be joined by special guest, bestselling Newfoundland author, Donna Morrissey. Pianist Diana Torbert, fiddler Anthony Rissesco and percussionist Mark Morton will accompany the Aeolians. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with general seating.

Mark Morton

Anthony Rissesco

Donna Morrissey

With music ranging from a new arrangement of folksinger Rose Vaughan’s beautiful Stone and Sand and Sea and Sky, to Hymn to the Waters from Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, to Feist, there is really something for everyone in Atlantic Blue. Artistic Director Heather Fraser commented, “It’s always a privilege to highlight new Canadian repertoire, like Don MacDonald’s Selene’s Boat, as well as celebrate our own Maritime roots. We need to keep singing “our” songs, to ensure they are carried forward into the future. We’re so enjoying rehearsing Cape Breton Lullaby, Maid on the Shore and Across the Sea by the Wailing Jennys. It will be beautiful to add Mark, Anthony and Donna into the mix to create a really special tribute to what is such an integral part of our culture and experience as Maritimers. I hope you will join us for this experience by the water, in the beautiful setting of the Maritime Museum.”

Originally from The Beaches in Newfoundland, author Donna Morrissey left her small outport at age sixteen, and studied at Memorial University in St. John’s. She lived in various parts of Canada before settling down in Halifax, and has written seven bestselling novels. Her novel The Fortunate Brother, was six weeks on the national bestseller list, won the Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year, and the Thomas Raddall for Best in Atlantic Fiction. Livvy Higgs was nominated for a Nova Scotia Masterworks Award, and was chosen for One Book Nova scotia.

Tickets are $20 (general seating), and can be purchased from choir members, online (aeoliansingers.ca), or by calling (902) 292-6168. The choir will take the show on the road for the May long weekend, with performances with PEI’s Sirens Vocal Ensemble in Charlottetown and Summerside.

Atlantic Blue is supported by the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Presents Wined Up: A Musical Fundraiser with special guest, Karen Myatt

Spend the evening with a great group of women and their musical guests as the The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) present Wined Up: A Musical Fundraiser on Saturday, April 21 at Bethany United Church Hall, Halifax (7:00 – 9:00 p.m.). Bethany Church is located at 2669 Joseph Howe Drive. There is parking available behind the church or across the street.

The choir presents a musical evening of mysterious delights with choral concert teasers, guest artists, delicious food and drink, silent auction and a chance to win two tickets to see Olympic champions, Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue on April 27th. There will also be jazz and pop solos from individual choir members. Plus, the Aeolians are thrilled to present sultry vocalist, Karen Myatt, as their guest artist. Tickets are $20 in advance, and $25 at the door, and are available from choir members, at the door, and in advance at aeoliansingers.ca.

Karen Myatt

Karen Myatt

Jazz vocalist and theatre artist Karen Myatt has appeared on stages in New York, Mexico, and throughout Canada. Influenced from an early age by the great composers and musicians of the Golden Era, she has her grandmother to thank for her knowledge and love of the American Songbook, but she’s equally at home with international music, especially French and German cabaret. Karen trained at the Randolph Academy in Toronto and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Her mentors include Canadian soprano and new music interpreter Janice Jackson, and New York City Opera star Eileen Schauler. In NYC, Karen was named one of “Broadway’s Rising Stars” and performed in the Broadway Summer Series at the Town Hall under the direction of Tony-Nominated Emily Skinner. She has written and performed cabaret in Mexico, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax and is a co-founder of Halifax's Wild Abandon Productions. Karen recently wrote and performed Songs of the Silver Screen on Neptune Theatre's Fountain Hall to rave reviews. In 2016, Ladies of Song, another show written and conceived by Karen, played to sold out crowds at Neptune's Studio Theatre. At the 2017 Halifax Jazz Festival, Karen was joined by pianist Scott Taylor, bassist Chris Churchill, percussionist Stephanie McKeown, and trumpeter Matt Myer to play to a standing-room only audience. She has sung with the highly acclaimed Rhapsody Quintet in such venues as Halifax’s Jazz and Nocturne Festivals. Her trio of Holly Arsenault (piano), David Langstroth (double bass) and Brock Caldwell (drums) collaborated with Karen on her debut album Enchanté.

Karen's theatre credits include; Beauty & the Beast, Shrek the Musical, The Addams Family, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol, Elf the Musical, and Sweeney Todd (Neptune Theatre), The Marvelous Wonderettes, Norm Foster's The Melville Boys and her self-written Broadway Without Borders (Chester Playhouse), Allen Cole's Mimi (TheatreSpeak/Neptune Theatre's Scotiabank Studio), Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone and Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Theatre Arts Guild), Rita La Porta in Lucky Stiff (Sage Theatre NYC), Simone Cixous in Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path (Vocalypse Productions/CBC National Broadcast).

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers and
Second Chances Jazz Band Present
A Jazzy Happy Holiday

A Jazzy Happy Holiday is the first collaboration for the two groups who share a common member, Aeolians’ soprano, Perla Canales, who also plays baritone saxophone with the band. Perla suggested the idea for a joint concert, and conductors Joanne Slack (Aeolians) and Stephanie McKeown (Second Chances) readily agreed. Music ranges from seasonal favorites such as Go Tell It on the Mountain to jazz-inspired numbers like Zat You Santa Claus and the hit Feeling Good, popularized by Nina Simone, Michael Bublé, John Coltrane and others.

Now in their 41st season, the Aeolian Singers began in 1976 under founding director Claire Wall as a program of Dartmouth Continuing Education. Since then, they were also conducted by Jacqueline Chambers, and most recently, Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years have commissioned many new works by a range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and the late Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs, and made three recordings, including the Canadian premiere of breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, which they subsequently recorded, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. Heather Fraser will join the choir as Artistic Director commencing with the 2017-18 season, and music educator Fran Farrell will be leading the choir for the winter and spring of 2017. The Aeolians are accompanied by Diana Torbert, and Joanne Slack is Assistant Conductor.

Second Chances Community Band encourages musical learning for adults to want to learn how to read music and play one of the musical instruments found in a concert band. The program offers several bands and a percussion ensemble, and performs several concerts a year throughout the HRM area, including throughout the summer months. The Jazz Band is led by music educator Stephanie McKeown, music lessons coordinator at Long and McQuade and a freelance percussionist and clinician.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Frances Farrell wins inaugural C/4 competition

Halifax composer Frances Farrell has won first prize in Chor Leoni’s inaugural C/4 Canadian Choral Composition Competition. Described by the composer as a secular work appropriate for the winter season, Winter Proverbs is an unaccompanied four-movement composition for male choir, and is Farrell’s first composition.

The Judge’s Panel of Elektra Women’s Choir’s artistic director Morna Edmundson, VSO composer-in-residence Jocelyn Morlock and businessman James Carter awarded Farrell the $2000 first prize.

Congratulations also go out to Nicholas Ryan Kelly whose Evening Song for male choir and piano placed second, and to Bonnie Penfound, whose setting of The Sea to the Shore, with poetry by Lucy Maude Montgomery, placed third. All finalists travelled to Vancouver to hear their works in rehearsal, attend the premiere, and receive financial prizes.

Chor Leoni’s C/4 attracted thirty-six entries from across Canada, and the premiere performance sold out in July. The competition was generously supported by James and Leslie Carter, with accommodation generously supplied by the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

Aeolian Singers On the Road in Babes on Broadway – Annapolis Royal and Dartmouth

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca), conclude their 40th anniversary season with two performances of their original show, Babes on Broadway on Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. at King’s Theatre, Annapolis Royal, and at Grace United Church in downtown Dartmouth on Sunday, May 29 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for the Annapolis Royal performance are $20 (advance), $18 for members, $22 at the door and $5 for youth, and available by calling or visiting the box office at (902) 532-7704 or going to www.kingstheatre.ca. For the Dartmouth show, a benefit for the Sights and Sounds of Grace, tickets are $15 and available from the church office by calling (902) 466-3329 (www.gracedartmouth.ca).

Babes on Broadway is an original show created for the Aeolians by retired music educator, Eleanor Hall. Originally performed in the 2012-13 season, the show has been revised by choir member/professional theatre artist Ryanne Chisholm, who is also directing. Babes features a storyline which takes the audience through the history of the musical with a cast inspired by Broadway’s famous female characters (Velma and Roxy from Chicago, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, to name a few). It’s a fun performance of great music for all ages featuring everything from frollicking numbers like Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls to the moving Seasons of Love from Rent.

The Aeolians are under the artistic direction of Janet Gaskin, and accompanied by Diana Torbert.

Celebrating forty years of music making in Nova Scotia, the Aeolian Singers began in 1976 under founding director Claire Wall as a program of Dartmouth Continuing Education. Since then, they were also conducted by Jacqueline Chambers, and are currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years have commissioned many new works for by a range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and the late Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs, and made three recordings, including the Canadian premiere of breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, which they subsequently recorded, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers On the Road in Babes on Broadway – Annapolis Royal and Dartmouth

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca), conclude their 40th anniversary season with two performances of their original show, Babes on Broadway on Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. at King’s Theatre, Annapolis Royal, and at Grace United Church in downtown Dartmouth on Sunday, May 29 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for the Annapolis Royal performance are $20 (advance), $18 for members, $22 at the door and $5 for youth, and available by calling or visiting the box office at (902) 532-7704 or going to www.kingstheatre.ca. For the Dartmouth show, a benefit for the Sights and Sounds of Grace, tickets are $15 and available from the church office by calling (902) 466-3329 (www.gracedartmouth.ca).

Babes on Broadway is an original show created for the Aeolians by retired music educator, Eleanor Hall. Originally performed in the 2012-13 season, the show has been revised by choir member/professional theatre artist Ryanne Chisholm, who is also directing. Babes features a storyline which takes the audience through the history of the musical with a cast inspired by Broadway’s famous female characters (Velma and Roxy from Chicago, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, to name a few). It’s a fun performance of great music for all ages featuring everything from frollicking numbers like Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls to the moving Seasons of Love from Rent.

The Aeolians are under the artistic direction of Janet Gaskin, and accompanied by Diana Torbert.

Celebrating forty years of music making in Nova Scotia, the Aeolian Singers began in 1976 under founding director Claire Wall as a program of Dartmouth Continuing Education. Since then, they were also conducted by Jacqueline Chambers, and are currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years have commissioned many new works for by a range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and the late Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs, and made three recordings, including the Canadian premiere of breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, which they subsequently recorded, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Present New Original Show, Babes On Broadway

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) will present Babes on Broadway on Saturday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Meinertzhagen Theatre, Halifax Grammar School (945 Tower Road, Halifax). Tickets are $20 adult and $15 for children, and can be purchased from choir members and will also be available at the door, or can be booked in advance by calling 902-465-7412. There is free parking at the school and a ramp for wheelchair access.

Babes on Broadway is an original show created for the choir by former music educator, Eleanor Hall. It features many great numbers from beloved Broadway musicals, ranging from the early years (Oklahoma) to songs from more recent shows like Rent, A Chorus Line, and more.

The show features soloists from the choir and a storyline which takes the audience through the history of the musical as told by a cast of female characters inspired by Broadway heroines. It promises to be a fun and moving evening of great music for all ages featuring everything from rollicking numbers like Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls and the moving Seasons of Love from Rent.

The Aeolians Singers are champions of music for women, and over the years, they’ve commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and the late Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s-who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The Aeolian Singers is under the direction of Janet Gaskin and accompanied by Hannah Parks.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers and Dartmouth Choral Society Present Alleluya, Nativitas! In Dartmouth

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) and Dartmouth Choral Society will present Alleluya, Nativitas! on Saturday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas More Church (15 Caledonia Road, Dartmouth). Tickets are $15 regular and $12 for seniors and students, and can be purchased from choir members and will also be available at the door, or can be booked in advance by calling 902-465-7412. The performance features a brass quintet and organ.

Dartmouth Choral Society is the longest continually operating community choral group in Nova Scotia. The four—part choir has a long and proud history of community choral singing beginning in 1954. DCS provides an artistic opportunity for members to sing some of the great choral works from the Renaissance to the contemporary. The choir is a member of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. Dartmouth Choral Society is currently under the direction of Malcolm Bradley and accompanied by Pamela Burton.

The two choirs last performed together twelve years ago, when they commissioned a new piece, Alleluya, Nativitas! from Nova Scotian composer, Gary Ewer. They will once again perform this work for massed choirs, brass quintet and organ on December 1.

The Aeolians Singers are champions of music for women, and over the years, they’ve commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and the late Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs.They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe.The Aeolian Singers is under the direction of Janet Gaskin accompanied by Hannah Parks.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Auditions - 37th Anniversary Year!

Are you a woman who loves to sing and who has choral singing experience? The Aeolian Singers are holding auditions for committed choristers for the 2012-2013 choral season, which begins at the end of August. The coming season has many exciting events in the works for the choir, including performances in Truro, Halifax and Dartmouth.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir, including music by Canadian singer/songwriters such as Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin, and performed with a who's who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They are under the musical direction of Janet Gaskin.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Singing with Heart! at the Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts

The Aeolian Singers will present a reprise of their 35th anniversary show, Singing with Heart, on Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts (6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax). Tickets are $15 and can be purchased from choir members and will also be available at the door. The performance features four instrumental musicians: young cellist Lydia Hansen, Cello; Pam Mason, Double Bass; and Allan Gaskin and Erin Donovan, Percussion.

Continuing last season's Singing with Heart theme, the Aeolians continue to make Nova Scotian women aware of the importance of heart health, and will include repertoire from their 35th anniversary show at the Cohn.

Last season the choir's anniversary slogan – “singing with heart for 35 years” – incorporated the Aeolian's signature singing woman logo with the addition of a red heart. Working with support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, the Aeolians provided information on The Heart Truth campaign at each of their concerts and on their website. The campaign provides information on how women can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. “We are delighted that a group of women like the Aeolians are taking our message about The Heart Truth campaign and delivering it to their supporters. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death among women in Canada. This has been an exciting partnership, and with the help of women like the Aeolians, we can make a positive change in awareness – and save lives,” commented Menna MacIsaac, CEO at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. To find out more about the Heart and Stroke Foundation's The Heart Truth campaign, visit www.thehearttruth.ca.

Included on the program are Canadian composer Stephen Hatfield's songs, Chamber Music, which the choir commissioned and premiered last season. The Suite ties in the four major founding ethnic groups in Nova Scotia, and the rhythmic component demonstrates the connection of all women, through the beating of the heart. With piano, percussion and double bass, and choral choreography by Claire Legere, this piece is a dynamic celebration of Nova Scotian women and “tales from the heart,” as only Stephen Hatfield could write. The choir will also perform the moving Five Hebrew Songs by composer Eric Whitacre with piano and cello accompaniment.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. They've shared the stage with a who's who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The choir is currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are accompanied by Hannah Parks.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers in concert with Women of Wolfville - Singing with Heart!

The Aeolian Singers will present a reprise of their 35th anniversary show, Singing with Heart, on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Wolfville Baptist Church (487 Main Street, Wolfville). Tickets are $15 regular and $12 for students, and can be purchased in advance at the Box of Delights Bookstore in Wolfville or by calling 542-2533 and will also be available at the door. The performance features special guests, singer/songwriter Susan Crowe, MC Olga Milosevich, and three instrumental musicians: Shimon Walt, Cello; Pam Mason, Double Bass; and Allan Gaskin, Percussion.

Continuing last season's Singing with Heart theme, the Aeolians continue to make Nova Scotian women aware of the importance of heart health, and will include repertoire from their 35th anniversary show at the Cohn, with the addition of guest performers, the Women of Wolfville (WOW – www.womenofwolfville.ca). WOW began in in 2001 when two moms challenged each other to mount a production of The Vagina Monologues. The group joined a movement to stop violence against women with a 2002 production. Since then, they've picked a new theme every year, played to sold-out houses, and raised a lot of money for good causes. They work with local authors to create a collective production reflective of the theme and are very happy to finally be collaborating with the Aeolian Singers. The two groups have talked about collaborating for a few years now!

Last season the choir's anniversary slogan – “singing with heart for 35 years” – incorporated the Aeolian's signature singing woman logo with the addition of a red heart. Working with support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, the Aeolians provided information on The Heart Truth campaign at each of their concerts and on their website. The campaign provides information on how women can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. “We are delighted that a group of women like the Aeolians are taking our message about The Heart Truth campaign and delivering it to their supporters. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death among women in Canada. This has been an exciting partnership, and with the help of women like the Aeolians, we can make a positive change in awareness – and save lives,” commented Menna MacIsaac, CEO at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. To find out more about the Heart and Stroke Foundation's The Heart Truth campaign, visit www.thehearttruth.ca.

Included on the program are Canadian composer Stephen Hatfield's songs, Chamber Music, which the choir commissioned and premiered last season. The Suite ties in the four major founding ethnic groups in Nova Scotia, and the rhythmic component demonstrates the connection of all women, through the beating of the heart. With piano, percussion and double bass, and choral choreography by Claire Legere, this piece is a dynamic celebration of Nova Scotian women and “tales from the heart,” as only Stephen Hatfield could write. There will also be songs and a theatrical presentation by Women of Wolfville, and beautiful heart-related songs by both choirs and Susan Crowe (www.susancrowe.com) with piano and cello accompaniment, including the moving Five Hebrew Songs by composer Eric Whitacre.

The choir is once again asking individuals to “Buy a Heart Beat” – and pay tribute to an extraordinary person for a donation of $20 to the Aeolian Singers. The name of your loved one will be included in the 36th Anniversary Concert. For more information, see the choir's website (www.aeoliansingers.ca). To be included in the concert program, Heart Beats must be received by Monday, August 30.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. They've shared the stage with a who's who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The choir is currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are accompanied by Hannah Parks.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Present Songs from the Heart in Musquodoboit Harbour

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) will present Songs from the Heart, an evening of relaxing and beautiful music on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at First United Church in Musquodoboit Harbour. Tickets are $10, and can be purchased in advance by calling 889-2352 and will also be available at the door.

Continuing last season’s Singing with Heart theme, the Aeolians are striving to make Nova Scotian women aware of the importance of heart health, and will include repertoire from their 35th anniversary concert in this performance and later this spring when they perform in Wolfville with the Women of Wolfville.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they’ve commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The choir is currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are accompanied by Hannah Parks.

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website, www.aeoliansingers.ca. Or, find them on Facebook!

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE EH-OLE-EE-AN) Singers will present Songs from the Heart on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Musquodoboit Harbour at First United Church. Tickets are available in advance by calling 889-2352, and at the door, and are $10. For more information on the choir, please visit the Aeolians’ website at www.aeoliansingers.ca or find them on Facebook.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Present Class Meets Grass Christmas and A Christmas Collage

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) present two concerts of beautiful and relaxing music to help you get in the Christmas mood in Brookfield and Dartmouth on Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, marking the choir’s first performances under new Artistic Director, Janet Gaskin. First up is Class Meets Grass Christmas on Saturday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Knox United Church (#53, High 289, Brookfield) with special guests Megan Isenor & Connections. Tickets are $10 and free for children twelve and under, and can be purchased in advance from MacQuarrie’s pharmacies in Brookfield and Truro. Homemade desserts will be available at intermission.

Megan Isenor & Connections (www.meganisenor.ca) is a bluegrass band comprising family members. Megan is a seventeen-year-old fiddler and singer who is joined by her father, aunt and two cousins. Megan & Connections play at community events and festivals throughout the Maritimes. Megan also plays with Fiddles & Feet and The Pioneers (a four generation family band). The group has released one CD to date, and have collaborated several times in the past with Aeolians.

The choir will also present A Christmas Collage on Sunday afternoon, December 4 at 3:00 p.m. at Grace United Church (King Street, Dartmouth), with guests the Dartmouth All-City Elementary Girls’ Choir under the direction of Alison Roe-Smith. Tickets are $15 and $5 for children ten and under.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they’ve commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. They’ve shared the stage with a who’s who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. They have made three recordings, including the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The choir is currently under the direction of Janet Gaskin. The Aeolians are accompanied by Hannah Parks.

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website, www.aeoliansingers.ca. Or, find them on Facebook!

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE EH-OLE-EE-AN) Singers will present Class Meets Grass Christmas on Saturday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Brookfield at Knox United Church, with special guests, Megan Isenor and Connections. Tickets are available in advance from the choir, at MacQuarrie’s pharmacies in Truro and Brookfield for and at the door, and are $10 for adults and free for children under twelve years of age. On Sunday, December 4, the Aeolians will present A Christmas Collage with special guests, the Dartmouth Elementary All-City Girls Choir. Tickets are $15 regular and five dollars for children ten and under, and are also available from the choir in advance, and at the door. For more information, please call 902-422-5403, or visit the Aeolians’ website at www.aeoliansingers.ca.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Announce New Artistic Director

The Aeolian Singers Association announces the appointment of new Artistic Director, Nova Scotian music educator and choral conductor, Janet Gaskin, effective immediately. Ms. Gaskin is only the third conductor to lead the choir, succeeding Jacqueline Chambers, who was Artistic Director for the past 20 years. The founding director was Claire Wall.

Janet Gaskin has had a thirty-three year career in the public school system, teaching general music, choral and instrumental music in the Halifax Regional School Board. She has been President of the Kodaly Society of Nova Scotia, and is a past president of the Nova Scotia Music Educators' Association. Ms. Gaskin obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from Mount Allison University. She has led the Woodlawn United Church Gospel and Children's Choir, the Nova Scotia Choral Federation Junior Choir Camp and she currently also directs the IWK Staff Choir. She is the recipient of the Nova Scotia Music Educators Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been active as an adjudicator and clinician.

Ms. Gaskin is a former member of the Aeolian Singers, and also directed the choir during the former Artistic Director's one-year sabbatical. She commented, “I am delighted and honored to be joining the Aeolian Singers as Artistic Director and am looking forward to continuing to foster the culture of singing with such an outstanding women's choir." Choir President, Nicole Boertjes added, “we are thrilled to have a musician of Janet's caliber leading us, and her previous experience with the Aeolians should make for an easy transition.”

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir, including music by Canadian composers like Alasdair MacLean, Scott Macmillan, and Lydia Adams, as well as singer/songwriters such as Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. The choir recently completed its 35th anniversary with he world premiere of Stephen Hatfield's Chamber Music at the Rebecca Cohn.

Interested singers can still audition for this fall's upcoming 2011-2012 season. For more information, or to schedule an audition, please contact the choir's Assistant Artistic Director.

Aeolian Singers Auditions - 36th Anniversary Year!

Are you a woman who loves to sing and who has choral singing experience? The Aeolian Singers are holding auditions for committed choristers for the 2011-2012 choral season, which begins at the end of August. The coming season has many exciting events in the works for the choir.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir, including music by Canadian singer/songwriters such as Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin, and performed with a who's who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. In their last season for the 35th Anniversary celebration concert Singing with Heart, they performed the world premiere of Stephen Hatfield's Chamber Music at the Rebecca Cohn.

Auditions will take place during June. For more information, or to schedule an audition, please contact the choir's Assistant Artistic Director.

Aeolian Singers - 35th Anniversary and Stephen Hatfield Premiere!

It's been thirty-five years since a small group of people met in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, to start a new choir, The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca). The 2010-11 season has been a time of celebration for one of Nova Scotia's longest-standing arts organizations, champions of music for women's voices. The Aeolians will present the culmination of this special season, Singing with Heart, at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium of the Dalhousie Arts Centre on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are on sale now at the Cohn Box Office.

Special guests for the Singing with Heart performance include past choir collaborators Susan Crowe(www.susancrowe.com), Ardyth and Jennifer (www.ardythandjennifer.com), Megan Isenor and Connections, author Sheree Fitch (www.shereefitch.com), singer/actor Alison Woolridge and MC Olga Milosevich. Rounding out the musical guests are cellist Shimon Walt, Pam Mason on double bass and Kate MacLean on percussion.

The Aeolians have been using their anniversary to raise awareness of an important issue for women - heart health. Their new 35th anniversary slogan - "singing with heart for 35 years" - incorporates the choir's signature singing woman logo with the addition of a red heart. Working with support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, the Aeolians have been presenting information on The Heart Truth campaign at each of their concerts this season and on their website. The campaign focuses on women's heart health, and provides information on how women can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. Inspired by The Heart Truth campaign, the Aeolians will debut new red dresses at the Cohn concert. "We are delighted that a group of women like the Aeolians are taking our message about The Heart Truth campaign and delivering it to their supporters. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death among women in Canada. This has been an exciting partnership, and with the help of women like the Aeolians, we can make a positive change in awareness - and save lives," commented Menna MacIsaac, CEO at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. To find out more about the Heart and Stroke Foundation's The Heart Truth campaign, visit www.thehearttruth.ca.

The choir has taken the heart message even further, commissioning a new work, Chamber Music, by renowned Canadian choral composer, Stephen Hatfield. Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers explains: "I chose Stephen Hatfield for this new work because he has shown a sensitivity to the treble voice and specifically a woman's perspective through his choice of text in many of his pieces. The suite ties in the four major ethnic groups in Nova Scotia, and the rhythmic component will demonstrate the connection of all women, through the beating of the heart. We were thrilled to workshop the music recently with Stephen; he is a passionate and dynamic musician who inspired us all." Private donors, O'Regans Automotive Group, Peter Orser, Assante Financial, the Halifax Regional Municipality, the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, and the Province of Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage have provided funding for the commission and concert.

Supporters of the choir still have time to pay tribute to an ordinary extraordinary person in their lives through thepurchase of a "Heart-Beat," with a donation of $20, and the inclusion of the person being paid tribute to at the May concert at the Rebecca Cohn. Heartbeat tribute information can be found on the choir's website (www.aeoliansingers.ca) and must be received by April 18 in order to be included in the printed concert program.

The Aeolians are champions of music for women, and over the years, they've commissioned many new works for the choir by a diverse range of Canadian composers, including music by singer/songwriters like Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Raylene Rankin. They've shared the stage with a who's who of musicians in their innovative and moving programs. The choir has made three recordings, including one of the moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, and performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, the U.K. and Europe. The choir has been under the direction of Jacqueline Chambers for more than 20 years; its founding conductor was Claire Wall. The Aeolians are accompanied by Hannah Parks.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers Celebrating our Mothers in Halifax

Halifax's The Aeolian Singers (AeolianSingers.ca) will perform Celebrating our Mothers on Sunday, June 13 at Saint Andrew's United Church (6036 Coburg Road) in Halifax at 3:00 p.m. Joining the Aeolians at this concert will be the Truro Youth Singers under the direction of Ann Legere.

Truro resident Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who are currently in their 34th season of music making, and are champions of new music for women's voices. Their accompanist is Hannah Parks. The choir will present an eclectic afternoon of music for women's chorus, focusing on the theme, Celebrating our Mothers. Their new CD, Where I Live, will be for sale and several children of Aeolian members will also perform.

Tickets are $15 regular, $10 for students and children 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets are available in advance from the Aeolians and at the door. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. For more information, please call 422-5403.

Celebrating our Mothers in Truro

Halifax's The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) will perform Celebrating our Mothers on Saturday, April 10 at John Calvin Christian Reformed Church (169 Glenwood Drive) in Truro at 7:00 p.m. The choir is being presented by the John Calvin CRC Youth Group. The concert is a joint fundraiser for both groups.

Joining the Aeolians at this concert will be the Truro Youth Singers under the direction of Ann Legere.

Truro resident Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who are currently in their 34th season of music making, and are champions of new music for women's voices. Their accompanist is Hannah Parks. The choir will present an eclectic evening of music for women's chorus, focusing on the theme, Celebrating our Mothers. Their new CD, Where I Live, which was released last fall, will be for sale.

Tickets are $10 and children 10 and under are admitted for free. Tickets are available in advance from both choirs, at MacQuarries (Esplanade location), and at the door if available. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The Youth Group will have a canteen at intermission with homemade desserts and beverages available for purchase ($3.00). They will be using their share of the proceeds for a Serve Missions trip being planned for next year.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Music

This year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Halifax’s The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) are taking to the road with composer Diane Benjamin’s moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live. The 30-minute work, which is accompanied by eight musicians, is based on writings by women who have experienced breast cancer firsthand. Performances are taking place in Fredericton, Saint John, Stanhope (PEI) and Moncton, over two weekends this October.

The performance schedule is as follows: Saturday, October 17 7:00 p.m. at Brunswick Street Baptist Church (161 York Street, Fredericton); Sunday, October 18 2:00 p.m. at Saint John Arts Centre (20 Hazen Avenue, Saint John); Saturday, October 24 7:00 p.m. at Gingerwood, 67 Stanhope Lane, PE and Sunday, October 25 3:00 p.m. at Riverview Arts Centre (400 Whitepine Road, Riverview). All tickets are $20 each, and each performance is followed by a reception. Tickets can be pre-purchased at www.cbcf.org/atlantic, or please contact Lena at 1-866-273-2223 (lstewart@cbcf.org). As space is limited in some of the venues, patrons are urged to book tickets early.

The Aeolians gave the Canadian premiere of Where I Live in 2007, and recorded the work over the past year for a CD which they will launch later this fall. Their efforts caught the attention of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Atlantic Region’s office, who, along with presenting sponsor CIBC, are partnering with the choir in presenting the performances. “We hope people will enjoy the glorious music and readings that make up this inspirational performance, and take away with them the belief that together we will create a future without breast cancer.” said Nancy Margeson, CEO, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Atlantic Region.

Said the Aeolians Artistic Director, Jacqueline Chambers, “Diane’s piece paints a portrait of a women’s journey with breast cancer. As a women’s choir, we have experienced how this beautiful music touches people – as the opening piece says, “somebody’s mother, somebody’s sister...somebody could be me. We are thrilled that CBCF Atlantic’s involvement is allowing us to expand the audience for Where I Live.”

Joining the Aeolians are some of Atlantic Canada’s finest musicians – in Fredericton and Saint John, members of the Saint John String Quartet will be joined by Halifax-based players Gillian Smith (violin), Pam Mason (double bass), Marsha Coffey (percussion) and the Aeolian’s accompanist, Hannah Parks (piano). For Moncton and Charlottetown (Stanhope), alternate string players are Symphony Nova Scotia members Karen Langille (violin), Susan Sayle (viola), Hilary Brown (cello) as well as the others.

Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who were recently part of the Stand up! Speak Out! Oxfam Canada fundraising concert in celebration of Muriel Duckworth’s 100th birthday. The Aeolians are currently in their 34th season of music making, and are champions of new music for women’s voices. Rounding out the program for the concerts will be other music for women’s chorus, including life-affirming songs by some well-known Canadian and international artists.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE AY-OLE-EE-AN) Singers are touring New Brunswick and PEI with four performances of Diane Benjamin’s moving breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live. This work for women’s choir, soloists, string quartet and other musicians is being presented during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The performance schedule is as follows: Saturday, October 17 7:00 p.m. at Brunswick Street Baptist Church (161 York Street, Fredericton); Sunday, October 18 2:00 p.m. at Saint John Arts Centre (20 Hazen Avenue, Saint John); Saturday, October 24 7:00 p.m. at Gingerwood, Stanhope, PE and Sunday, October 25 3:00 p.m. at Riverview Arts Centre (400 Whitepine Road, Moncton). All tickets are $20 each, and each performance is followed by a reception. Tickets can be pre-purchased at www.cbcf.org/atlantic, or please contact Lena at 1-866-273-2223 (lstewart@cbcf.org). As space is limited in some of the venues, patrons are urged to book tickets early.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers in Parrsboro

The Parrsboro Band Association will present Halifax’s The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) in concert on Sunday, April 26 at The Band Hall (www.thehall.ca), at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available in advance in Parrsboro from Home Hardware and the Sweet Briar Boutique, by calling Brenda Wheaton at 902-254-3153, and at the door.

The Parrsboro Band Association is renovating the historic Band Hall as a cultural venue for today’s Parrsboro. The Hall presents the performing, visual, media and literary arts and provides a location for arts instruction and physical rejuvenation on the Fundy Shore.

Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who were recently part of the Stand up! Speak Out! Oxfam Canada fundraising concert in celebration of Muriel Duckworth’s 100th birthday. The Aeolians are currently in their 33rd season of music making, and are champions of new music for women’s voices. Their new accompanist is University of Ottawa graduate, Hannah Parks.

The Aeolians will present an eclectic afternoon of music for women’s chorus, including songs by Nova Scotian singer/songwriters such as Susan Crowe and Raylene Rankin and excerpts from Where I Live, their upcoming CD which was recorded this winter.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Parrsboro Band Association will present Halifax’s The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE AY-OLE-EE-AN) Singers in concert on Sunday, April 26 at the Band Hall in Parrsboro at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, and are available in advance in Parrsboro from Home Hardware and the Sweet Briar Boutique or by calling 902-254-3153, and will be available at the door also.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Rescheduled – Women’s Choir Join for the War Within: Women for Peace Concert

Halifax’s The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) have rescheduled their concert which was postponed due to inclement weather in November - The War Within: Women for Peace, will take place on Saturday, April 25 at First Baptist Church, Oxford Street, Halifax, at 7:30 p.m. Joining the Aeolians is the Cantabile Women’s Ensemble from Saint John, under the direction of Gisele Roy.

The choirs have joined together to acknowledge the victims of violence due to war, terrorism and domestic abuse: celebrating the hope, strength and courage of women striving for peace. Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who were recently part of the Stand up! Speak Out! Oxfam Canada fundraising concert in celebration of Muriel Duckworth’s 100th birthday. The Aeolians are currently in their 33rd season of music making, and are champions of new music for women’s voices. Their new accompanist is Hannah Parks.

Cantabile Women's Ensemble is a community choir which enjoys performing music in different languages and styles. This group of singers has won numerous awards at the NB Competitive Music Festival and represented the Province of New Brunswick at the national level. Their conductor Gisele Roy is an Orff specialist and music teacher in both the public schools and private sector. Cantabile is accompanied by Loreena Rattray a music specialist in District Six.

The choirs will each be performing separately and together. The combined choirs will perform selections from The Song of Survival Suite. Women imprisoned in a POW camp on the island of Sumatra during WWII composed this music. The women’s vocal orchestra, led by Margaret Dryburgh and Norah Chambers, presented its first concert on December 27, 1943, with selections from such classical masterpieces as the Largo of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The story of the vocal orchestra was captured in the 1997 film Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close.

A survivor of those terrible times, Helen Colijn, has worked to have the music published and recorded. She relates: “The singers sat on little stools, too weak from malnutrition and disease to stand a long time. They wore faded, patched dresses or shorts and suntops. They were barefoot. Bandages around their legs covered tropical sores. Norah Chambers raised her hands. Very softly, as through a haze, the first chords of the Largo of the New World Symphony reached us listeners packed together in the compound. Some of us wept. We had not expected such beauty among the cockroaches, the rats, the bedbugs, the lice, and the smell of the latrines. The concert renewed our sense of human dignity. It gave us courage to go on.”

Tickets for the Halifax performance are $15 and free for children 12 and under, and can be purchased in advance at The Madrigal, Spring Garden Place, or by calling 422-5403. Previously sold November concert tickets will be honoured at the door.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolians Singers has rescheduled its concert cancelled in November due to bad weather with the Cantabile Women’s Choir from Saint John for Saturday, April 25 at First Baptist Church, Oxford Street, Halifax at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to The War Within: Women for Peace are $15, with children 12 and under admitted for free, and are available in advance by calling 422-5403, from The Madrigal CD shop in Spring Garden Place, and will be available at the door also. If you purchased a ticket to the November concert already, please bring it with you and it will be honoured at the door.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Where Class Meets Grass –
Aeolian Singers & Bluegrass Band

Halifax’s The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) will perform with bluegrass band Megan Isenor & Connections in Where Class Meets Grass, on Saturday, March 28 at Milford Lantz United Church, Milford, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are now available from choir members, at the door and by calling 902-883-2353. Admission for children 12 and under is free.

Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who were recently part of the Stand up! Speak Out! Oxfam Canada fundraising concert in celebration of Muriel Duckworth’s 100th birthday. The Aeolians are currently in their 33rd season of music making, and are champions of new music for women’s voices. Their new accompanist is Hannah Parks.

Megan Isenor & Connections (www.meganisenor.ca) is a bluegrass band comprising family members. Megan Isenor is a 15-year-old fiddler and singer who is joined by her father, aunt and two cousins. Megan & Connections play at community events and festivals throughout the Maritimes. Megan also plays with Fiddles & Feet and The Pioneers (a four generation family band).

Both groups are working on new recordings and will be showcasing music from their CDs.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolians Singers performs with Megan Isenor and Connections on Saturday, March 28 at Milford Lantz United Church, Milford, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, and are available in advance by calling 883-2353, from choir members, and will be available at the door also. Admission for children 12 and under is free.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Women’s Choir Join for the War Within:
Women for Peace Concert

Halifax’s The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca) are joining with two women’s choirs from New Brunswick to present The War Within: Women for Peace, on Saturday, November 22 at First Baptist Church, Oxford Street, Halifax, at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, November 23 at Brunton Auditorium, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB at 3:00 p.m. Joining the Aeolians is the Sophias’ Choir from Mount Allison under the direction of Gayle Martin, and Cantabile Women’s Ensemble from Saint John, under the direction of Gisele Roy.

The choirs have joined together to acknowledge the victims of violence due to war, terrorism and domestic abuse: celebrating the hope, strength and courage of women striving for peace. Jacqueline Chambers conducts the Aeolian Singers, who were recently part of the Stand up! Speak Out! Oxfam Canada fundraising concert in celebration of Muriel Duckworth’s 100th birthday. The Aeolians are currently in their 33rd season of music making, and are champions of new music for women’s voices. Their new accompanist is Hannah Parks. The Sophias’ Choir from Mount Allison University was established two years ago by Dr. Gayle Martin to encourage and provide more singing for the large numbers of women wanting to sing. Sophias is part of the Chorale Society, a university/community choir of combined voices. The group of women has sung in various university concerts including the popular Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Cantabile Women's Ensemble is a community choir which enjoys performing music in different languages and styles. This group of singers has won numerous awards at the NB Competitive Music Festival and represented the Province of New Brunswick at the national level. Their conductor Gisele Roy is an Orff specialist and music teacher in both the public schools and private sector. Cantabile is accompanied by Loreena Rattray a music specialist in District Six.

The choirs will each be performing separately and on their own. The combined choirs will perform selections from The Song of Survival Suite. Women imprisoned in a POW camp on the island of Sumatra during WWII composed this music. The women’s vocal orchestra, led by Margaret Dryburgh and Norah Chambers, presented its first concert on December 27, 1943, with selections from such classical masterpieces as the Largo of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The story of the vocal orchestra was captured in the 1997 film Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close.

A survivor of those terrible times, Helen Colijn, has worked to have the music published and recorded. She relates: “The singers sat on little stools, too weak from malnutrition and disease to stand a long time. They wore faded, patched dresses or shorts and suntops. They were barefoot. Bandages around their legs covered tropical sores. Norah Chambers raised her hands. Very softly, as through a haze, the first chords of the Largo of the New World Symphony reached us listeners packed together in the compound. Some of us wept. We had not expected such beauty among the cockroaches, the rats, the bedbugs, the lice, and the smell of the latrines. The concert renewed our sense of human dignity. It gave us courage to go on.”

Tickets for the Halifax performance are $15 and free for children 12 and under, and can be purchased in advance by calling 422-5403, and will be available also at the door. Donations to Crossroads Women’s Shelter (Moncton, NB) will be accepted at the Sackville concert at the door.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolians Singers is joining with the Sophias Women’s Choir from Mount Allison University and the Cantabile Women’s Choir from Saint John to present two performances entitled The War Within: Women for Peace, on Saturday, November 22 at First Baptist Church, Oxford Street, Halifax at 7:30 p.m. and at Brunton Auditorium, Mount Allison Music Conservatory in Sackville, New Brunswick on Sunday, November 23 at 3:00 p.m.. Tickets are $15 for the Halifax performance, with children 12 and under admitted for free, and are available in advance by calling 422-5403, and will be available at the door also. The Sackville performance is a benefit for the Crossroad Women’s shelter in Moncton, and donations will be accepted at the door.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers in Tatamagouche

Halifax’s women’s choir, The Aeolian Singers (aeoliansingers.ca), will perform on Saturday, Saturday 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Sharon United Church, Tatamagouche. This performance is a fundraiser for the church, and will feature favorites from the Aeolians’ repertoire. Tickets for this performance are $10 and are available from Fulton’s Drug Store (Tatamagouche), MacQuarrie’s Drug Store (Truro), committee members and at the door.

The Aeolian Singers are in their 33rd year of music making, and are under the direction of Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers. Champions of music written for women and by Canadian and local composers and arrangers, the Aeolians have been recorded by CBC radio and television, and released a CD, A Woman’s Voice. The choir has collaborated and performed with such artists as Connie Kaldor, Susan Crowe, Cindy Church, Mocean Dance, El Viento Flamenco and Rose Vaughan, to name but a few. Last spring the Aeolians presented the Canadian premiere of Diane Benjamin’s Where I Live at the Rebecca Cohn with special guests, Canadian folk-singing sensation, Quartette.

The Aeolians’ new accompanist this season is pianist Hannah Parks. Ms. Parks holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Acadia University, where she also received the 2004 University Medal in Music.

The Aeolians have helped to raise awareness and funds for many organizations over the years such as Breast Cancer Action Network Nova Scotia (BCANS), the Marguerite Centre, the North End Parents Resource Centre and others.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Halifax’s women’s choir, the Aeolian (PRONOUNCE EH-OLE-EE-EN) Singers will perform in Tatamagouche, on Saturday, September 27, at 7:00 p.m. at Sharon United Church. Tickets are now available from Fulton’s Drug Store, Tatamagouche, MacQuarrie’s Drug Store, Truro, committee members, and at the door at $10 each.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers, Quartette and Canadian Premiere Performance of Breast Cancer Oratorio

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) will present Canadian folk-singing sensation Quartette (www.quartette.com) and the Canadian premiere of composer Diane Benjamin’s breast cancer oratorio, Where I Live, on Saturday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m.at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax.Tickets for this performance are $25 and are now on sale at the Cohn Box Office, available in person, by phone (494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669) or on-line at http://artscentre.dal.ca. Composer Diane Benjamin has said of Where I Live that the piece was both difficult and easy to write: “In 1998, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with breast cancer...(she) graciously allowed me to become part of her journey, as she found a path of healing and courage through this life-threatening condition. A year later, the Denver Women’s Chorus commissioned me to write an oratorio about breast cancer...I wanted to create something beautiful and healing for all of us.” Joining the choir and Quartette onstage are some of Nova Scotia’s finest musicians: string quartet players Isabelle Fournier (First Violin), Gillian Smith (Second Violin), Alexandra Bates (Viola) and Anne Davison (Cello); Pam Mason (Double Bass), Marsha Coffey (Percussion), Jamie Robinson (Guitar), John Chiasson (Bass) and Dave Burton(Drums).

Canadian folk group Quartette consists of four well-loved Canadian musical icons: Sylvia Tyson, Gwen Swick, Cindy Church and Caitlin Hanford, each an accomplished performer and songwriter in her own right. Since their debut in 1993, the four members of Quartette have been both publicly and critically acclaimed for their lush harmonies and delightfully diverse repertoire. Said the late Peter Gzowski, CBC Radio’s Morningside host: “I've been the host of Morningside for almost twelve years, and there have been few musical moments more exciting than the appearance and performance of the four women who make up Quartette." The Victoria Times Colonist agrees: The seraphic four-part harmonies of Sylvia, Cindy, Caitlin and Gwen are a boundless source of delight. Quartette vocalizes like they've grown up on the same street...in the same family. The counterpoint intermingling of human voices can sound positively celestial. This was the case with Quartette." Their musical influences range from blues and gospel to country and folk to jazz and pop.

All of the music on the second half of the performance is from Quartette’s repertoire, including their new CD, Down at the Fair, with one song especially arranged for the Aeolian Singers by Quartette member, Gwen Swick. “We’ve been performing several of Gwen’s songs for a number of years now,” said Aeolians’ Artistic Director Jackie Chambers, “and we’re thrilled to share the stage with these great music makers in a celebratory songfest of some of their most loved pieces.” Quartette will perform both with the choir and on their own.

The choir is grateful for the support of many individuals and organizations in making this concert a reality, including the following sponsors and funders: The Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, the Lloyd Carr Harris-Foundation, The Chronicle Herald, Peter Orser (CFP Assante Financial), O’Regans Toyota Halifax, Scotiabank, Reierson Schurman Family Lawyers and individual donors.

The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) are in their 32nd year of music making, and are under the direction of Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers. Champions of music written for women and by Canadian and local composers and arrangers, the Aeolians have been recorded by CBC radio and television, and released a CD, A Woman’s Voice. The choir has collaborated and performed with such artists as Connie Kaldor, Susan Crowe, Cindy Church, Mocean Dance, El Viento Flamenco and Rose Vaughan, to name but a few. Their accompanist is the acclaimed Canadian pianist, Barbara Pritchard.

The choir is once again collecting tributes to women, and for a tax-deductible donation of $20 you can honour a woman in your life at the concert.

The Aeolians are also helping to raise awareness of Breast Cancer Action Nova Scotia (BCANS), a survivor-driven group that voices the unique concerns and needs of people living with breast cancer. The choir plans to make a donation to BCANS this year, through raffles and other initiatives, and is promoting the work of BCANS at all their 2007-08 performances. Thanks to this year’s raffle sponsors: Sandra Heft, Margot Metcalfe, Spirit Spa, Nora Gross, Painter’s Palette Gallery, Wonderful Stuff and Denise Metzler. For more information please visit www.aeoliansingers.ca, or call 422-5403.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Don’t miss the Canadian premiere performance of Where I Live, a breast cancer oratorio featuring Halifax’s women’s choir, the Aeolian (PRONOUNCE AY-OLE-EE-EN) Singers, plus guest musicians and the fabulous Canadian folk singing group, Quartette, on Saturday, May 3, at 8:00 p.m. at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Tickets are now on sale at the Cohn Box Office at $25 each. Call the Cohn at 494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669, or buy on-line at http://artscentre.dal.ca. You can also pay tribute to a woman in your life at the concert through a tax-deductible donation of $20.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers and Nova Voce Present A Choral Valentine

Join Halifax's women's choir, The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca), and Nova Scotia's provincial men's choir, Nova Voce, for A Choral Valentine on Saturday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist United Church, Oxford Street, Halifax. Love songs, folk songs and more are on the program, including a few tongue-in-cheek numbers on the theme of romance. Tickets for this performance are $20 and are available from choir members, at the door, and at The Madrigal CD shop, Spring Garden Place, Halifax. This is the second collaboration between the two choirs. Rounding out the performers' list are accompanists Barbara Pritchard and Lynn Pelton. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.

The Aeolian Singers are in their 32nd year of music making, and are under the direction of Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers. Champions of music written for women and by Canadian and local composers and arrangers, the Aeolians have been recorded by CBC radio and television, and released a CD, A Woman's Voice. The choir has collaborated and performed with such artists as Connie Kaldor, Susan Crowe, Cindy Church, Mocean Dance, El Viento Flamenco and Rose Vaughan, to name but a few. Later this season the Aeolians will present the Canadian premiere of Diane Benjamin's Where I Live at the Rebecca Cohn with special guests, Canadian folk-singing sensation, Quartette.

Described by the Halifax Herald as "a choir to keep an ear on," Nova Voce was formed in 2004 by Terry Hurrell and Giuseppe Renzi. Nova Voce is a provincial choir comprising auditioned singers who come from many parts of Nova Scotia. The choir has performed in different areas of the province, including Wolfville, Lunenburg, New Glasgow, Liverpool, Shelburne, Amherst as well as Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford. The choir was invited to represent Nova Scotia during Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa in July of 2005, and in July, 2007 performed at Festival 500, St. John's, Newfoundland, after completing a successful audition for this international choral festival. Nova Voce recently released its first self-titled CD, which is already receiving a second pressing.

The Aeolians are helping to raise awareness of Breast Cancer Action Network Nova Scotia (BCANS), a survivor-driven group that voices the unique concerns and needs of people living with breast cancer. The choir plans to make a donation to BCANS this year, through raffles and other initiatives, and is promoting the work of BCANS at all their 2007-08 performances.

For more information please visit www.aeoliansingers.ca or www.novavoce.com, or call 422-5403.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Celebrate Valentine's Day with your loved ones with Halifax's women's choir, the Aeolian (PRONOUNCE EH-OLE-EE-EN) Singers and the provincial men's choir, Nova Voce (PRONOUNCE NOVA VO-CHAY). The choirs will present A Choral Valentine at First Baptist United Church, Oxford Street, Halifax, on Saturday, February 16, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at The Madrigal CD shop in Spring Garden Place, at the door and from choir members, at $20 each.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Aeolian Singers and Ardyth & Jennifer Present WinterSpark

Halifax's women's choir, The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) are joining forces with Nova Scotia singer/songwriters Ardyth & Jennifer (www.ardythandjennifer.com) to present two concerts entitled WinterSpark in Halifax and Milford in celebration of Christmas. The Halifax concert take place on Sunday, December 2 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Church, Barrington Street. On Sunday afternoon, December 9, the performance will be repeated at Milford Lantz United Church (2134 Highway 2, Milford), also at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for both performances are $20 and are available from MacQuarrie's Pharmasave (Milford performance), The Madrigal Spring Garden Place, Halifax (Halifax performance), from choir members and at the door, if available. This is the second collaboration between the choir and Ardyth and Jennifer, and Jennifer Wyatt has once again penned some new arrangements for the Aeolians and the ensemble. Rounding out the performers' list are Marsha Coffey, percussion, and Pam Mason, double bass.

Ardyth & Jennifer (Ardyth Robinson and Jennifer Wyatt) met many years ago at a good old-fashioned kitchen party. At that time they both played the guitar, and Jennifer played a bit of piano, but they both sang. They had a great time singing together, but life took them to different parts of the world. When they got together again a couple of years later, Ardyth had been introduced to the harp while she was in New Zealand, and Jennifer fell immediately in love with the instrument. They both had young families, and times were tough, but Jennifer's husband, Sean decided to build a harp for her. From the moment she had her hands on the harp, songs began to come together- all the musical influences from classical to jazz to rock and roll found their way into the music, and with the gentle additions of Ardyth's harp and voice along with whistles and flute, they created the sound that has become uniquely Ardyth & Jennifer. When they perform, they often add the incredible rhythmic acoustic bass of Pam Mason and sometimes the percussion of Ken Shorley, as well as many other guest instruments, but their sound remains unique. Traveling the roads together they feel as though they are having an amazing journey- it leads them to some of the premier folk festivals and stages throughout the Maritimes and into the New England States, and it leads them into the hearts of tiny communities. Ardyth & Jennifer have four full length CDs, Awakening, Promise, WinterFire and Learn To Fly, their brand new CD, which was released in the Fall of 2006. Many of their songs have been played across Canada on CBC radio, and featured in film and television.

The Aeolian Singers are in their 32nd year of music-making, and are under the direction of Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers, with Halifax accompanist Barbara Pritchard. Champions of music written for women and by Canadian and local composers and arrangers, the Aeolians have been recorded by CBC radio and television, and released their first CD, A Woman's Voice in 2003. The choir has celebrated International Women's Day with other Nova Scotian women artists, raising funds for various charities at home and internationally, collaborating and performing with such artists as Connie Kaldor, Susan Crowe, Cindy Church, Mocean Dance, El Viento Flamenco and Rose Vaughan, to name but a few. The choir will perform with Nova Voce in celebration of Valentine's Day on February 16, 2008, and will present the Canadian premiere of Diane Benjamin's Where I Live on May 3 in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

This year the Aeolians have chosen to profile and help to raise funds for Breast Cancer Action Network Nova Scotia (BCANS). BCANS is a survivor-driven group that voices the unique concerns and needs of people living with breast cancer. BCANS wishes to change the legacy of breast cancer through networking, support, education and research. The Aeolians hope to make a donation to BCANS this year, through raffles and other initiatives on the part of the choir, and will assist those attending their concerts in making donations to the Centre should they wish.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE EH-OLE-EE-EN) Singers and Ardyth & Jennifer will present WinterSpark at St. Matthew's United Church, Barrington Street, Halifax, on Sunday, December 2, at 3:00 p.m., and at Milford Lantz United Church, 2134 Highway 2, on Sunday, December 9 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available at MacQuarrie's Pharmasave for the Milford performance, The Madrigal in Spring Garden Place for the Halifax performance, at the door and from choir members, at $20 each. For more information, please call 902-422- 5403 or visit the Aeolians' website, www.aeoliansingers.ca

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Music at the Three Churches

Music at the Three Churches will close the 2007 season with a concert by one of Nova Scotia's favourite choirs on Friday, September 21 at Saint John's Lutheran Church. The Aeolian Singers, a 40-voice women's choir based in Halifax, will perform a program of beautiful melodies and folk songs from Canadian songwriters and arrangers.

The choir has enjoyed 30 years of music making. The choir has toured Europe twice, recorded radio and television programs, and performed many times as guest artists of Symphony Nova Scotia. The Aeolians' repertoire spans five centuries and a wide variety of styles, with a primary focus on music composed specifically for women's voices.

Musical director Jacqueline Chambers holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Acadia University and an Artist's Diploma in Voice from the University of Toronto. She teaches music with the Chignecto Central Regional School Board, and is active in the choral community as a clinician and adjudicator for workshops and festivals.

Accompanist Barbara Pritchard is one of Canada's finest contemporary pianists. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, the Eastman School of Music, Miss Pritchard was a faculty member at the Banff Centre for the Arts and has taught courses at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

In 2002 the Aeolian Singers collaborated with two other Nova Scotian women's choirs to create a Women's Festival of Canadian Choral Music. This was repeated again in 2003 in New Glasgow with the Carillon Singers and guest conductor Monique Richard. The choir released its first CD, A Woman's Voice in 2003. On International Women's Day 2003 they presented their first Celebrating Women performance to a sold-out house, with proceeds donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan to open a women's resource centre in Afghanistan.

The Aeolians performed as the guests of St. Peter's Church congregation in 2004 in Sheet Harbour, and at the Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts in a special program of music from Christian and Jewish traditions, titled Her Song Rises. Last season, the choir was pleased to sing their Jewish repertoire once again for Shaar Shalom, and to partner with Nova Voce, Nova Scotia's men's choir, for a performance in November. They celebrated IWD in a program entitled Celebrating Mother Earth with guests soprano Sung Ha Shin Bouey, Ardyth and Jennifer and Evelyne Benais and El Viento Flamenco.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at Saint John's Lutheran Church, Mahone Bay. Admission is $15., children under 12 free. Tickets are available at the door, in advance at Kinburn PharmaSave, Mahone Bay and Fulton's Pharmacy, Lunenburg. For reservations call 902.531.2248 or e-mail threechurches@hotmail.com.

The Aeolian Singers’ In a Woman’s Life featuring Connie Kaldor

Tickets are on sale now for In a Woman's Life, presented by The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) with special guest, Canada's legendary, Juno award-winning singer/songwriter Connie Kaldor (www.conniekaldor.com), and host, Susan Crowe (www.susancrowe.com), on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dalhousie Arts Centre, at 8:00 p.m. Connie Kaldor is the composer of such well-known classics as Wood River, Mother's Prayer, Prairie Moon, Wanderlust and A Duck in New York City among many other works.

One of Nova Scotia's finest choirs, the Aeolian Singers have celebrated over 30 years of music making, and are under the direction of Jacqueline Chambers, and accompanied by Canadian pianist Barbara Pritchard. They released their first CD, In A Woman's Life in 2003, and provide a voice for women through high quality choral music programs. Champions of Canadian and new music, the Aeolians have commissioned many new works by both Atlantic and Canadian composers over the years, and have been broadcast regionally and nationally on CBC Radio. For several years the choir has presented concerts in celebration of International Women's Day and raised funds for and awareness of groups from women and girls in Afghanistan to local charities benefiting women.

The performance will feature new songs written for the choir by Canadian singer/songwriters Connie Kaldor, Susan Crowe, Raylene Rankin and Gwen Swick, and celebrates women's lives in a creative and engaging program of great music. Commented Jackie Chambers, the Aeolians' Artistic Director: "We are really thrilled to be presenting these beautiful new songs written for us by some of Canada's greatest singer/songwriters. And having Connie as a guest will be wonderful as we have had several of her songs in our repertoire for a few years. This promises to be a moving and joyous event for Halifax audiences." Juno-nominee Donna Rhodenizer, Gwen Swick, Scott Macmillan and Chris Palmer have arranged this new repertoire for the Aeolians.

Here's a sample of one of the many beautiful new songs the Aeolians will be presenting (excerpt from To Make This Thing of Beauty by Connie Kaldor and Susan Crowe):

This quilt was made each stitch by hand with squares of coloured cotton,
You make the best of what you've got and throw away what's rotten.
Day by day, and piece by piece, bits of joy and duty,
Many hands to sew it up to make this thing of beauty.

All seats are $20. Call the Cohn Box Office at 902-494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669 and buy now - great gift-giving idea for Mother's Day! You can also order online at www.artscentre.dal.ca. This year, the Aeolians are supporting the NorthEnd Parents Resource Centre through a raffle. The draw will take place at the concert. As well, the choir is once again honouring Ordinary Extraordinary Women, through the donation of tributes at a cost of $20/each.

While Connie Kaldor has performed several times at the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival in Nova Scotia, this is her first Cohn appearance - don't miss it!

For Broadcast Use:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE AY E-OLE-EE-EN) Singers are presenting In a Woman's Life, a choral concert of new songs written by Raylene Rankin, Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Gwen Swick, on Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. The performance features a guest appearance by Connie Kaldor and Susan Crowe is the host. All seats are $20 and are now on sale at the Cohn Box Office by calling 494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669. You can also order online at www.artscentre.dal.ca. Or, honour an Ordinary Extraordinary Woman by making a donation of $20 to the choir. The concert also features a raffle benefiting the NorthEnd Parents Resource Centre.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Connie Kaldor on Touchstone

Hello to everyone

My special guest on Touchstone this Saturday (May 5, 2007) at 11am will be Connie Kaldor, who is performing that same night at the event below...

The Aeolian Singers are presenting In a Woman's Life, a choral concert of new songs written by Raylene Rankin, Susan Crowe, Connie Kaldor and Gwen Swick, on Saturday May 5 at 8 pm at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

The performance features a guest appearance by Connie Kaldor and Susan Crowe is the host. All seats are $20 and are now on sale at the Cohn Box Office (494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669). You can also order online at www.artscentre.dal.ca.

The concert also features a raffle benefiting the NorthEnd Parents Resource Centre.

In Chorus with Kaldor

Connie Kaldor says having her songs translated into choral arrangements is like placing a message in a bottle. "I love the fact that they go to all kinds of places, that they have another job," says the Juno Award-winning singer-song writer. Kaldor’s Wood River perhaps her best-known song will be sung in a choral arrangement by the Aeolian Singers. In A Woman’s Life will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium and the choir, which recently celebrated over 30 years of music making, will be joined onstage by Kaldor and Susan Crowe, who hosts the event.

The choir will sing songs written especially for the Aeolians by Raylene Rankin, Gwen Swick, Crowe and Kaldor. To co-write a song called To Make This Thing of Beauty, Halifax-based Crowe, who has been nominated for both Juno and ECMA awards, travelled to Montreal to work with Kaldor.

"First of all we sat and yakked, had tea, talked about life. After we got that stuff out of the way, it was like a quilting bee, you’d come with one little piece, go away and come back again. Then we tried it with guitar, tried it on piano, recorded it in my home studio and handed it to someone who scored it for the choir. I’m really looking forward to what they’re going to do with the harmonies," says Kaldor, who is amiably chatty speaking by phone from Montreal the day after an unexpected April blizzard. "Susan Crowe is an interesting writer and she brings her own thing to the writing process. It’s nice to have one consistent thread rather than asking all of us to write songs for women."

Kaldor, who was born in Regina, Sask., in 1953, reflects that she is glad to have been born in a time where a women’s role has changed dramatically.

"To see the transitions, the pluses and minuses, the adjustments, is really interesting. My mother was born without the vote, which is a pretty startling thing to think about. My grandmother didn’t vote until she was in her 40s. You think ‘How can that be?’ I can’t imagine saying to a woman you can’t vote. It’s a pretty startling thing, though there are still places where a woman can’t vote. I’m glad I was born in this time, such an interesting time for things to write about."

Kaldor, who last sang in Halifax with Lennie Gallant at the opening of Pier 21 in 1999, will perform both with the Aeolian Singers and solo on Saturday. She won’t provide any clues as to what she might sing. "I’m someone who does things differently every time, much to the chagrin of the back-up musicians. As a performer, I view each performance as a unique entity which makes life exciting. Everything is slightly different. The audience is different. Singing with (the choir) I have to straighten myself out musically."

Her favourite song is usually the latest song she’s working on, though she says Wood River, which is considered the quintessential Saskatchewan song, and Skies Are Bigger are songs she can sing again and again and not get tired of singing. She uses Relax as a warm-up song and right now is especially proud of a song called Thin Thread, which has depth and "is not formulaic in its crafting. It’s a little off balance and wonderful." Kaldor, who married music producer and Hart Rouge member Paul Campagne in 1990, has two sons Gabriel, 16, and Aleksi, 14. She says when she was younger and had no responsibilities she never thought about writing, she just did it.

"Now I have children, I treasure my writing time. I’m always writing songs, I’ll pick up a piece of paper and my guitar in the kitchen at 4 a.m., but I don’t ‘work’ the songs till I record an album."

After writing literally hundreds of songs, she still loves performing. "Songs come alive in certain shows. It’s the most glorious feeling in a live show to have the audience in the palm of your hand. You send songs out and certain people love them, you can’t say why they work."

Though she’s a prairie girl now living in Montreal, Kaldor has an affection for the sea and loves performing in Nova Scotia where she played the first Stan Rogers Folk Festival and frequently takes the stage at the Lunenburg Folk Festival, most recently in 2005.

"I’ve always had a wonderful time there. I’ll sit on the dock and sing and some part of me wants to sail away. I think it’s my Viking blood. I want to leap aboard a sailboat and go. It’s the romance of the sea there’s something quite compelling about the openness of the ocean."

She jokes that bringing musicians to Nova Scotia is like bringing coal to Newcastle, though she doesn’t see her wide-ranging repertoire as being in the Maritime style.

And while she plays piano and guitar, voice is her favourite instrument.

"I love singing, love to hear people sing. I don’t think people sing enough. They sing with the radio or in their car, but they’re afraid to sing in public."

Tickets to hear Kaldor, Crowe and the Aeolian Singers, accompanied by pianist Barbara Pritchard under the direction of Jacqueline Chambers are $20.

This year, the Aeolians are supporting the NorthEnd Parents Resource Centre through a raffle. The draw will take place at the concert. As well, the choir is once again honouring Ordinary Extraordinary Women, through the donation of tributes at a cost of $20 each.

(anemetz@herald.ca)

Aeolian Singers & Truro Youth Singers Present Christmas is Coming!

Halifax's women's choir, The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca) are joining forces with the Truro Youth Singers to present two concerts, Christmas is Coming! in Halifax and Truro. The Halifax concert will take place on Sunday, December 3 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Church, Barrington Street. The Truro concert will take place Sunday, December 10, at 3:00 p.m. at First United Church, Prince Street, Truro, and will be sponsored by the Music Under the Steeple Series. Tickets for both performances are $10 regular, $8 for students and seniors, and free to children six and under, and are available at the door, from choir members and from MacQuarrie's Pharmasave (Truro performance only). Also performing is local storyteller, Claire Miller.

The Truro Youth Singers is a group of 33 young girls from in and around the Truro area, ranging in age from eight to 13 years. The group was founded six years ago under the direction of Ann Legere with Lorraine Brocklehurst as accompanist. They rehearse once a week and the main requirement for belonging to the choir is a love of singing. The choir enjoys performing at community functions in the Truro area, and are regular participants in the Truro Music Festival, Truro Tulip Festival, and have been invited guests on numerous occasions of the Cantabile Singers of Truro, under the direction of Ross Thompson. They have also had the honor of being guests on two occasions of the First Baptist Girls' Choir, under the direction of Jeff Joudrey. In the 2004 Truro Music Festival, they were recommended to the Provincial Festival where they were first place winners, and received the honor of being recommended to the National Festival. In 2005 and 2006, they were again recommended to the Provincial Festival.

The Aeolian Singers have celebrated 30 years of music making in Nova Scotia, and are under the direction of Artistic Director Jacqueline Chambers, with accompanist Barbara Pritchard. Champions of music written for women and by Canadian and local composers and arrangers, the Aeolians have been recorded by CBC radio and television, and released their first CD, A Woman's Voice in 2003. For four years they've celebrated International Women's Day with other Nova Scotian women artists, raising funds for various charities at home and internationally. This fall the choir was invited to perform at a concert in celebration of the installation of Kathryn E. Laurin as the new President of Mount St. Vincent University, and for the congregations of Cole Harbour-Woodside United Church and Saint Peter's Parish, Sheet Harbour. They will celebrate Mother's Day with In a Woman's Life on May 5, 2007 with Canadian singer/songwriter Connie Kaldor and perform new songs by women songwriters at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

This year the Aeolians have chosen to profile and help to raise funds for the NorthEnd Parents Resource Centre. The NorthEnd Parent Resource Centre, located in Uniacke Square Housing Development, has been in existence for twenty years. The NorthEnd Parent Resource Centre provides support to families in the Halifax North End community through various programs and initiatives which address the needs of mostly single parent families. Programs such as parenting workshops, health and nutrition classes, craft programs, G.E.D. preparation courses and a Three Plus pre-school program are examples of what resources the Centre has to offer. A community food co-op also operates through the NorthEnd Parent Resource Centre and provides families on limited budgets with a means of raising needed income to supplement their food resources throughout the month. The NorthEnd Parent Resource Centre is a much-needed resource in the community and makes a positive impact on the lives of single parents and children living in poverty.

The Aeolians hope to make a donation to the NorthEnd Parent Resource Centre this year, through raffles and other initiatives on the part of the choir, and will assist those attending their concerts in making donations to the Centre should they wish.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Aeolian (PRONOUNCE AY-OLE-EE-EN) Singers and the Truro Youth Singers, with storyteller Claire Miller, will perform Christmas is Coming! at St. Matthew's United Church, Barrington Street, Halifax, on Sunday, December 3, at 3:00 p.m., and at First United Church, Prince Street, Truro, on Sunday, December 10 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the door, from choir members, or from MacQuarrie's Pharmasave for the Truro performance, at $10 regular and $8 for seniors and students. Admission for children six and under is free. Please visit www.aeoliansingers.ca for more information.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

New President of Mount St. Vincent University

Impersonations of an Ordinary Woman Concert

Sensitive childhood years spent in Nova Scotia shaped American poet Elizabeth Bishop's prize-winning writings throughout her lifetime.

Her strong Bluenose connections and influences, however, are much better known and understood in the United States and abroad. A concert to mark International Women's Day that celebrates the quiet poet tomorrow night in Halifax aims to bring Bishop to a wider audience here at home.

Halifax singer-songwriter and Juno-nominee Susan Crowe collaborated with the Aeolian Singers, a 40-voice women's choir, to create a musical and literary journey through the life of the Worcester, Mass.-born writer.

The show, which combines music and dramatic readings and also features singers Cindy Church and Lisa Lindo and actors Marcia Kash and Martha Irving, will be held at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at Dalhousie University. Profits from the show will benefit the Marguerite Centre, a provincial abuse and addiction-rehabilitation facility for women.

American poet James Merrill once said that Bishop, who died in 1979 at the age of 68, gave "instinctive, modest, life-long impersonations of an ordinary woman." The show aims to reflect that theme.

"The show looks at a woman's cycle of life by putting Elizabeth Bishop against every woman's life," said Jackie Chambers, Aeolian artistic director, who was raised in Parrsboro, N.S., not far from Bishop's childhood home.

"She is the glass through which we look at all of our lives. This very extraordinary woman thought of herself as being very ordinary. Turn that inside out and you have a lot of ordinary women doing extraordinary things. It is really all of us who are being celebrated."

Bishop's father died from a kidney ailment in 1911 when she was just eight months old. An only child, she and her mother moved that same year to Great Village, N.S., to live with her maternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth Bulmer. Despite the closeness of family and bucolic surroundings on Cobequid Bay, Bishop's mother struggled mightily with the grief from her husband's death, and was finally institutionalized in Dartmouth, N.S., in 1916, where she remained until her death 18 years later. The experience inspired Bishop's moving poem First Death in Nova Scotia.

She moved to Massachusetts in 1918 to live with relatives, but made annual visits to Nova Scotia for decades and it was a central theme in her work.

In a tiny way, Bishop is to Nova Scotia what Lucy Maud Montgomery is to Prince Edward Island. But despite winning the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1956 and 1970, respectively, Bishop's connection to Nova Scotia is better recognized elsewhere than at home.

Sandra Barry, a poet and long-time Bishop scholar in Halifax, hopes Sunday's show will increase awareness of this poet who wrote so often of the sea.

"A lot of people regard her as exclusively American, but she never regarded herself that way," Barry said. "Many people outside Canada know Nova Scotia because they know about Bishop.

"This concert is exciting because it will help acknowledge her. I've had a much easier time convincing the rest of the world how important this place is in relation to Bishop than I've had convincing people here."

Over the years, Bishop also called home Manhattan, Key West, Fla., and Brazil -- they too figure heavily in her work. She used place and mood to build emotional layers in her poetry.

"The people who do know her have a deep attachment to her," Barry said. "For many people, Bishop is a cornerstone in their standard of what poetry should be. When people discover her, she's one of those writers who stay with you for life."

The Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia was formed a decade ago to educate people about her connection to the province. Of the society's 150 members, nearly half live in the U.S. This concert is timely, Barry said, for several reasons.

Several months ago, Barry and a group of 11 others from Nova Scotia and the United States got together and purchased Bishop's childhood home in Great Village, with an eye to turning it into an artists' retreat, much like the Wallace Stegner house in Eastend, Sask., and Pierre Berton's childhood home in Dawson City.

Acadia University is also getting in on the act, creating a virtual archive of material pertaining to Bishop.

"Fifteen years ago, people would stare at you blankly when you spoke of Bishop here, but there is an increasing awareness of her," Barry said. "It's a quiet thing, but it's building. It's not quite a buzz. More like a hum." Singer Susan Crowe said she spent several nights in the spartanly furnished farmhouse in Great Village doing what she described as "the emotional work" of creating the show. She hopes the concert moves people to discover the poet.

"I wanted this work to be simple, not scholarly and academic," Crowe said. "I wanted it to be accessible. It's a quiet show, like a collage. We're inviting people in to get an understanding and hopefully inspiring them to go find Bishop on their own."

Celebrating Women 2005 takes place at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dalhousie Arts Centre, in Halifax, tomorrow at 8 p.m. (902-494-3820 or 800-874-1669).

Aeolian Singers present Celebrating Women 2006- Celebrating Mother Earth

International Women's Day 2006
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
Dalhousie Arts Centre, Halifax, NS

The Aeolian Singers will once again celebrate International Women's Day with other Nova Scotian artists in concert at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dalhousie Arts Centre, on Sunday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m. Joining the 40-voice women's choir in a performance of music and readings in Celebrating Mother Earth are special guests soprano Sung Ha Shin-Bouey; celtic harpists Ardyth and Jennifer; flamenco troupe El Viento Flamenco, and bass player, Pam Mason. The Aeolians will be accompanied by their pianist Barbara Pritchard and under the direction of Artistic Director, Jacqueline Chambers.

The performance will pay tribute to Mother Earth, reflecting through music and dance the four elements of air, fire, water and earth, and humankind's impact on the natural world.

Now in their 30th year, the Aeolians are one of Nova Scotia's finest choirs, with a special focus on the performance and creation of music for women's voices. At this year's IWD event, the choir will premiere arrangements by Sung Ha Shin Bouey and Chris Palmer and a new piece by Donna Rhodenizer.

The Aeolians will honour four women with a strong connection to Nova Scotia and Mother Earth: author, artist and naturalist Linda Johns; peace activist Muriel Duckworth; the late Elisabeth Mann Borgese, founder of the International Ocean Institute; and environmentalist and Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada, Elizabeth May.

The choir also will once again pay tribute to "ordinary, extraordinary women" - for a $20 tax-deductible donation, patrons can recognize in the concert program a woman living or deceased who has made a difference in their lives. Anyone wishing to make a donation should call 422-5403 by February 15 or at www.aeoliansingers.ca.

Sponsors of this year's concert include the Province of Nova Scotia (Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage), the Craig Foundation for the Performing and Visual Arts; Morneau Sobeco; the Coalition Against Workplace Violence and its member organizations, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees; the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation; Reierson Schurman Family Lawyers and Atlantic Wholesalers. Tickets to the choir's raffle benefiting Alice Housing are now on sale and will be drawn for on March 5. Prizes include Inuit art books and cards from Houston North Gallery, a framed photograph by artist Margot Metcalfe, a handmade afghan and a crocheted cotton bedspread. Alice Housing (www.alicehousing.ca) provides second and third-stage affordable housing and supportive programs for women, with or without children, leaving family violence situations.

Tickets are $25 unreserved.

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For more information, please contact:
Sibylle Marquardt
E-mail: AeolianSingersNS@gmail.com

You can learn more about the Aeolian Singers by visiting their website at aeoliansingers.ca, find them on Facebook or join our mailing list.

Sponsored by: The International Ocean Institute