Members of the Bel Canto Youth Choir prepare for an international music festival in the Czech Republic

Prince George, BC – Much of the spectacular architecture in Prague was built to highlight the country’s musical core, and members of the Bel Canto Youth Choir will have the opportunity to experience that connection between culture and music first-hand when they travel to the Czech Republic next month.

Bel Canto Choirs Vice-President, Deirdre Hogan, says 22 members of the youth choir will be participating in the Prague Spring International Music Festival in March.  As part of the festival, the kids – ages 13 to 22 – will go on a guided walking tour through the streets of Prague, a river cruise, and a festival finale involving all participants.  "They’ll be thrown right into the language and culture," says Hogan.  "Seeing all the important sites, especially those spots that are musically significant because it’s a very musical city."

Artistic Director, Melanie Nicol, says the festival is unique in that all of the choirs will be doing a capella repertoires, meaning there will no musical accompaniment. 

Nicol says the buildings in Prague were built for a capella singing and says the acoustics will be unlike anything  her young singers have experienced. (click on photo at right to hear choir)

But, she says, their experiences will go far beyond that, "One of the biggest things they’ll get out of it is meeting other choristers from around the world, learning about other cultures, learning about the music of different cultures, as well."

Bel Canto tries to participate in an international festival every second year.  22-year-old Katherine Gordon has been with the choir for 10-years and two international trips.  During her first year in the youth choir, she went to New York and sang in Carnegie Hall. 

"The people you get to work with when you travel internationally is insane," says Gordon.  "We’re actually singing a piece (for this festival) by a composer I’ve actually met and done a workshop with."  (Canadian composer, Iman Raminsh, who played a large role in launching the Prince George Symphony Orchestra)

The trip to Prague will be 13-year-old Finlay Peterson’s second in her seven years with the choir. 

"It’s really fun because you get to know members of the choir a lot better and you become really close."  She says she’s looking forward to be exposed to all the many different types of music this trip to Europe will offer.

Deirdre Hogan points out that these events also highlight our local singers on the international stage.  Her son, Seamus, was offered a scholarship to a jazz school in the United States after being heard by a scout at the Banff Jazz Festival.  (He’s opted, instead, to pursue a career in medicine and is currently enrolled at UNBC.)

"It’s an opportunity to expose the kids to internationally-known artists in all musical genres and give them an opportunity to ‘rub shoulders’ with people of a very-high calibre in music," says Hogan.  "And might provide an opportunity that, down the road, they want to pursue."

The Youth Choir is still actively fundraising for the trip with ‘Pennies for Prague’ jars at a number of local businesses, donations being accepted at both the BBK and the Hart bottle depots, and lottery ticket sales underway.  The group is also seeking corporate sponsorship in exchange for ads in upcoming concert brochures.  For more information, you can go to their website or call the Bel Canto office at 250-981-1907.