The Eclectica Community Choir's annual benefit concert at Martin Exeter Hall on Dec. 7 was a rousing success.
This year’s Magic of Christmas concert raised $2,405 for the 100 Mile Food Bank and Loaves and Fishes Outreach, which received equal shares to support their ongoing food distributions.
"I thought it went really well," says Eclectica spokesperson Barbara Hooper. "It was a pretty full house ... and a fun experience."
The choir lived up to its name with an eclectic assortment of performers, she adds.
Noting there was a "rousing" audience participation in the program, Hooper notes she had them stand up and sing along with four different carols.
"The very last song was Silent Night, and the last verse was in German, so I had Christiane Nauen come up and help us with that. But there were a lot of people in the audience who speak German and, of course, Silent Night was originally written in German."
While traditional carols made up the majority of the program, the choir welcomed back bluegrass ensemble Front Porch, performing Two Step around the Christmas Tree while wearing sombreros, which was "so much fun," she says. (Most of the ensemble members are also Eclectica members.)
Hooper notes the concert was dedicated in memory of three choir members who passed away this year – Jo Bryenton, Kathleen Fell and Peter Howard.
Longtime former Eclectica leader Dennis Tupman spoke about the choir's history and ongoing fundraising efforts that always benefit local food banks or hospital societies.
Hooper says this year marked the first time the choir's fundraising concert was required to pay rent on the hall.
"Margo Shaw, the chairperson of our Eclectica team, went to the 100 Mile House Legion #260 and they covered our rent for the Martin Exeter Hall for the evening – a considerable amount of money."
The choir members are grateful for this financial assistance that allowed more funds to go to the food banks, she adds.
Hooper notes the concert ended with solos and choral pieces from the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, which was, as always, a "big crowd pleaser."
