What a season it has been so far for Chorus Niagara! Every year, they put on several performances of great choral music throughout Niagara, with Handel's Messiah performed every other Christmas. Their performances this year take place next weekend, in fact.
This year, however, Chorus Niagara is riding a wave of unprecedented popularity due to the production of a 5-minute 'flash mob' video on YouTube that has gone viral, with more than 6-million views the last time I checked. The worldwide interest the video has garnered has meant coverage on Good Morning, America, Inside Edition, CNN and ABC World News. Now, the choir is set to perform the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah from the food court at the Seaway Mall in Welland again this coming Wednesday morning at 6:30 am, as they broadcast live from the mall on Canada AM. Life just doesn't get any better for Chorus Niagara these days!
It all began when Jennifer Blakeley and her team at Alphabet Photography in Niagara approached Chorus Niagara with the idea to record something seasonal in a public location. The result was an early-morning visit with choir members, recording equipment and such back on Saturday morning, November 13th. The set up crew apparently got there at 5 am; choir members began arriving at 6, and rehearsals began shortly thereafter. Once the mall opened for the day around 9, choir members, dressed in their Saturday street clothes, milled about and basically blended in with mall shoppers visiting the food court that morning. When Lynn Honsberger, their accompanist, finished playing endless Christmas carols on the electronic keyboard in the food court, the cue was given for her to launch into the opening chords of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's oratorio 'Messiah' and the fun began. One by one, choir members joined in, surrounding startled patrons of the food court with glorious music for the holiday season.
What is interesting watching the video now is how quickly - likely within seconds - people's cell-phone cameras began recording the event, which is a part of everyday life now, it seems. All went well for the few minutes the choir sang, with everyone bursting into exhuberant applause at the end. Success! But it took a lot of work to get to that point and everything was planned out and rehearsed in advance. You can tell from the quality of the photography everything was orchestrated to the second, yet it looks spontaneous and very matter-of-fact. The video, which you can find on YouTube, or just go to the Chorus Niagara website, www.chorusniagara.ca, and there it is on the home page for you to enyoy, is one of the classiest, well-done and inspiring videos you're ever likely to see.
What I like about this whole idea is bringing quality music to the masses by way of modern technology. Literally millions around the world will log on to view the video, and even if their interest in the choir or the music itself doesn't go beyond that, it is a victory for those who feel classical music has taken a back seat in society today. Here is an example of great music being performed exceptionally well in the unlikeliest of locations, and everyone wins. The choir gets great exposure, as does the Seaway Mall, and everyone feels good from watching a few minutes of video magic unfold. You might not be able to catch lightening in a bottle, but capturing the performance in a video is the next best thing, I suspect.
If you want to catch the entire performance of Messiah, keep in mind the Hallelujah Chorus is but a small part of the entire work, but every note Handel wrote is glorious, and nothing else will put you in the spirit of the Christmas season like Messiah will. Performances are next weekend on Saturday evening at 7:30 at Mountainview Christian Reformed Church in Grimsby, and Sunday afternoon at 3 at Calvary Church in north St. Catharines. Tickets always go fast for Chorus Niagara's presentations of Messiah, so don't wait. Likely the best seats are to be had for the Grimsby performance, I should think, but you can check with the Brock box office for ticket availability at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257.
By the way, the early-morning performance at the Seaway Mall food court this coming Wednesday at 6:30 am is open to the public, so if you are free, why not head down and watch the action as Canada AM broadcasts the choir live to a national television audience?
Yes, life is good for Robert Cooper and Chorus Niagara. And it is about to get so much better, I bet. Congratulations!
December 4th, 2010.
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