Four host choirs extend a warm invitation to a day of inspiration and empowerment for treble voice singers.

• You may be affiliated with a choir – or not!
• Come and sing with us as part of the annual celebration of International Women’s Day.
• The day ends with a public concert at which you will perform!

Saturday, March 9^th
Workshop, social time over lunch and concert dress rehearsal: 10:00 to 3:00
Public Concert: 4:00
Knox United Church, 345 Pym Street, Parksville

Your host treble choirs and workshop leaders are:

• Island Bel Canto Singers and Island Flora Girls’ Choir (both of Nanaimo)
  • Fiona Blackburn, director
• Grace Notes (Comox Valley)
  • Stephanie Eakle, director
• British Columbia Girls Choir (Metro Vancouver)
  • Cassie Luftspring, director

The Workshop will focus on exploring and experiencing:

• vocal technique for the treble voice.
• three pieces written by Canadian composers:
  • One Voice, by Ruth Moody (a favourite song from the Wailin’ Jennys vocal ensemble),
  • All Together We are Love, by Katerina Gimon (commissioned by the Elektra Women’s Choir),
  • Kahkiyaw Oskâyak/All the Young People, by Sherryl Sewepagaham (who uses the language of her Cree-Dene heritage to bless our future leaders). 
• inter-generational camaraderie and mentorship for youth and adults (ages 12 and up). 

The cost? $65 for adults & $35 for youth and students (ages 12-24).

Included in the fee is your:

• workshop;
• performance opportunity at the concert;
• chance to prepare the three pieces prior to March 9^th; all registrants are invited to attend any of the open rehearsals listed below;
• package of licensed musical scores for you to keep;
• concert ticket for the performances by the four host choirs – at which you will share in singing the three pieces as the grand finale;
• drinks and snacks during breaks (please bring your own lunch).

Open rehearsals

with Stephanie:
Monday, February 26
Comox Presbyterian Church
725 Aspen Road, Comox
6:00 to 7:00

with Fiona:
Monday, February 26
St. Philip by-the-sea Anglican Church
7113 Lantzville Road, Lantzville
Youth (ages 12 to 17) 4:45 to 5:45
Adults 6:30 to 7:30

with Fiona:
Monday, March 4
Christ Community Church
2221 Bowen Road, Nanaimo
Youth (ages 12 to 17) 4:45 to 5:45
Adults 6:30 to 7:30

Online Registration for the Workshop and Concert opens on January 31, 2024.

Please click here to register – registration closed

Space is limited – register soon! For more information email lynnemac@shaw.ca.

Please note: registration will be administered exclusively online through the BC Choral Federation website. There will be no phone registration. Online registration will close Friday 8 March at noon

Concert Tickets for the Public:

• Tickets through the Port Theatre Box Office: Adults $24 / up to age 24 $12 (+ applicable box office charge of $3.50)
• Tickets at the door: Adults $28 / up to age 24 $16 cash only

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FIONA BLACKBURN

Fiona Blackburn is recognized for her passionate support of the art of singing in all its forms, as well as for her engaging and uplifting interaction with singers of all ages. Fiona holds three degrees from the University of British Columbia: a Bachelor of Music in voice performance, a Bachelor of Education in secondary music, and a Master of Music in choral conducting. She performed for 13 seasons with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, sang numerous roles with Vancouver Opera, and, in her solo concert work, performed with numerous Canadian orchestras. Fiona has taught music from kindergarten to university, including being an adjunct professor in the Department of Education at UBC.

In 2022, Fiona retired as Founder and Artistic Director of the British Columbia Girls Choir. During her two-decade tenure, the choir toured to over 15 countries. In 2018, the singers won the highest honour of ‘Children’s Choir of the World’ at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. Fiona also directed Zephyra Women’s Choir and Pacifica Singers of Metro Vancouver.

Since moving to Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island, Fiona continues to lead singers as the director of three Nanaimo-based ensembles: Malaspina Choir, for mixed voices, which performs regularly with orchestra; Island Bel Canto Singers, a women’s choir for the Central Island; and the recently formed Island Flora Girls’ Choir, for singers ages 12 to 17. 

STEPHANIE EAKLE

Stephanie Eakle has always had a passion for vocal harmony. Before leaving California for Sointula on BC’s remote north coast, she was active in San Francisco’s musical theatre community. While earning a BA in Music in Portland, Oregon, she completed three performance tours throughout the U.S. with the Lewis and Clark Honors Choir. She also sang with the San Francisco and Vancouver Bach Choirs as well as the Oakland Symphony Chorus. 

Like many people who have lived in a small community, Stephanie created opportunities to enjoy her passion for music. She founded, then directed, the Sointula Singers Community Choir for 25 years. She also directed the Sandpipers Women’s Choir for five years and the Wild Heart Youth music programs for two years. In 2000 she founded Song Lines, through which she offered workshops in improvisational singing. In addition, she performed with several small groups and recorded CDs with the Fifth Wheel vocal ensemble and The Hilltoppers, a Finnish dance band. In 2003 the Hilltoppers toured Finland with the Purpurrit Dance Ensemble and played at the world famous Kaustinen Music Festival. 

Since moving to the Comox Valley, Stephanie has sung with the Celebration Singers, Island Voices, the North Island Choral Society and the CYMC Chorus. She has been a leader in the Grace Notes since the choir was formed in 2017.

CASSIE LUFTSPRING

Cassie Luftspring is a versatile choral conductor, composer, soprano, and pianist. In addition to her work as Artistic Director of the British Columbia Girls Choir, she is Director of Choral Studies at Vancouver Academy of Music, and Conductor of Voces Gioventu. She has held conducting and teaching positions with several other organizations, including the Vancouver Youth Choir, Vancouver Children’s Choir, Vancouver Opera, Toronto Children’s Chorus, Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley, Pacifica Singers, Mississauga Festival Youth Singers, Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, and University of Toronto Women’s Chamber Choir and Men’s Chorus, among others.

As a professional choral singer, Cassie is a soprano section leader with the Vancouver Bach Choir, and has performed with various local groups including musica intima and the Vancouver Chamber Choir, with Bay Area Chamber Choir Convivium, and with the University of Toronto Schola Cantorum. A seven-time winner of the Amadeus Choir’s Songwriting Competition, her compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and performed by ensembles throughout North America. A recipient of numerous academic awards, including the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC), Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and Fellowship in Music, Cassie holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Toronto, and a degree in piano and composition from Queen’s University.