By Staff
May 20, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The choir of Port Nelson United Church presents its annual spring concert on Sunday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert, entitled Celebrate!, features performances by the Choir of Port Nelson United Church under the direction of Stillman Matheson.
The special musical guests for the evening are the members of the Hamilton Children’s Choir, with artistic director Zimfira Poloz. Accompanists are Brent Fifield and Laura Pin, with trumpeter Nora Nolan.
Choir of Port Nelson United Church
“The choir of Port Nelson United Church will be presenting a varied program that will appeal to all lovers of choral music,” said Matheson, director of music at Port Nelson. “The Hamilton Children’s Choir will deliver a memorable performance, as they always do.”
Among the featured works on the program from the Port Nelson choir are Benjamin Britten’s “Jubilate Deo”, three pieces by Toronto composer Eleanor Daley, and Randall Thompson’s “Choose Something Like a Star”. The choir will also perform Mark Sirett’s “O God, Whose First Creative Word” which was commissioned by the Port Nelson choir to commemorate the completion of the Rekindle Project.
Ilumini, the senior choir with Hamilton Children’s Choir, will perform a variety of repertoire spanning many languages, cultures and eras, including Malaysian folk song “Wau Bulan”, arranged by Malaysian-Canadian Tracy Wong, a world premiere by Canadian Steven Webb, “Li Ngu Weko”, and a crowd-pleasing piece in the Mexican huapango style by Stephen Hatfield, “Las Amarillas.”
“Our Ilumini singers have been busy preparing a programme full of surprises for our guest appearance with Port Nelson United Church,” said Poloz. “We are thrilled to share some of our favourite pieces from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, including the premiere of a piece we will bring to Hong Kong on tour this July. We hope that our music makes you breathe deeply, sigh with wonder, and delight in the beauty of young singers sharing their full hearts and voices.”
Port Nelson United Church
This year’s spring concert honours the memory of Rev. Donald Gillies, a long-time minister with the United Church of Canada who was a member of the Port Nelson congregation in his retirement. Gillies was a talented organist and a proud supporter of the Hamilton Children’s Choir, and his family is generously sponsoring the concert.
“He was a much-loved member of our congregation, and we wanted to honour his life and contributions through music,” said Matheson.
The evening is also a celebration of renewal, as this year, Port Nelson marked the official opening of its newly renovated and accessible sanctuary and community space.
Admission is by a free will offering. All proceeds benefit the ministry of music at Port Nelson United Church.
Port Nelson United Church is located at 3132 South Dr. in Burlington in the heart of the Roseland community.
