Franklin-based choir singing group encourages locals to head out for a night of traditional Christmas music.
Celebrating their 33rd year together, the Chorale Madrigale will be presenting two shows over the holiday season. The choir, which performs twice annually, will be presenting two shows. The first will take place in Hemmingford, at the Hemmingford St. Luke’s Anglican Church on December 11th at 8:00 P.M., with the second show taking place on December 12th at the Ormstown Catholic Church at 8:00 P.M. in Ormstown.
This year the choir welcomed a new musical director Sophie Bjerke, who currently works as a Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Music at SUNY Plattsburg. The retired member of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) has over 40 years of experience, making her a perfect fit for the longstanding choir. The Hemmingford resident, who joined the Madrigals in March, has also taught and examined Speech Arts and Drama with RCM. According to Bjerke, “In any genre, technique must precede interpretation, in order to lay a foundation for a singer to carry the emotion of a song, protecting the voice from strain.” Bjerke’s private studio produces singers who are active in community theatre, and several of her students have received medals for their exams, both in Canada and the United States.
The choir, which will be donned in their traditional uniform of black, consists of 20 members, including one of the last founding members of the group, Carol Snook. Practicing out of Franklin Elementary every Tuesday evening, the group prepares two major shows a year—one during the holiday season, which focuses entirely on traditional Christmas music, while the other, which takes place in the spring, is more explorative. This year is a particularly special one for the group, as it is the first time in fifteen years that the choir has been able to present two shows in December. Howick resident and choir member Penny Anderson is excited about the upcoming holiday shows. When asked about this year’s production, she exclaimed, “We all feel like we’re a family, the Madrigal family. I’ve been a part of the Madrigal choir for years.”
Admission is $15. Any additional funds raised from the event will go to Huntingdon’s La Bouffe Additionnelle and to Franklin Elementary. Attendants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to the event, or a tooney.
