The Calgary Girls Choir – Brava will be travelling to Llangollen, Wales to be a part of the International Musical Eisteddfod in July, 2018. This amazing competition attracts approximately 4,000 participants from around the world and as many as 50,000 spectators.
Participation in the festival is by audition only and the Calgary Girls Choir is honoured to be a part of this prestigious festival. We look forward to the many musical and cultural experiences ahead and know they will shape our future music making and our understanding of the world and its many varied cultures. Appreciating the music and cultures of others will help us fully appreciate our own music, identity and place in the world. We already have a growing sense of Canadian pride knowing we will represent our beautiful country in Llangollen. It is a tremendous feeling and our confidence is growing as we work hard to ensure we are up to the task!
The Calgary Girls Choir attended this festival in 2002 and the performances were so successful and memorable that the choir will never forget the focus and love shared on that stage. The 2002 choristers remember vividly the excitement of the Parade of Nations and our 2018 choristers can’t wait for the opportunity to parade through the streets of Llangollen wearing white cowboy hats, proudly carrying the Canadian flag! Thousands of people line the streets to cheer on the choirs and participants. What a thrill that will be!
Following our time at the Eisteddfod, we are excited to collaborate with a world-renowned Cantamus girls choir, from Mansfield, England. Ms. Quilichini has long been an admirer of this choir and we are so appreciative they are welcoming us to spend time with them, share a workshop and perform a joint concert. Cantamus is one of the most celebrated choirs in the world with a stellar reputation! It will be an inspiring collaboration for us and we will learn so much! CGC decided to undertake a new commission for this tour. The composer is Michael Neaum, the now-retired accompanist of Cantamus who will be there to work with and hear us! A rare opportunity for us to meet a composer whose works we have enjoyed singing many times over the years. In addition we are doubly excited that Michelle Todd (Canmore) who grew up in Cantamus and is now a famous soprano will join us in Mansfield so we can all sing with her acting as the soprano soloist! CGC last performed with Michelle Todd and the Civic Symphony and we consider Ms.Todd a special friend of the Calgary Girls Choir.
The sights and places we will see, the music we will make, the friendships built and the confidence and grit we will develop on this journey make it so much more than a holiday! Our tour to the Eisteddfod will be a transforming, life changing experience that will add to the richness of our entire lives. We will always remember it and we will always be able to say with great pride that we sang at the famous Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales! Wish us luck!
Elaine Quilichini
Artistic Director