As the Eclectica Community Choir sought to give back to the community this holiday season, the community gave back to them.
During their choir's annual Christmas Benefit Concert on Sunday, Dec. 15 the choir raised $2,000 which will be split between the 100 Mile House Foodbank Society and Loaves and Fishes. Musical director Margot Shaw said the concert was great and each of their four conductors picked different music, making for a signature eclectic concert.
"We had eight or nine solo or group ensembles. One of the best ones was when the German group got up, led by Marlene our German-speaking conductor and they were singing Christmas carols," Shaw said. "Then Gertrude, who is probably one of our oldest members, was like 'Oh my son would like to sing, he knows all the words' and then her grandchild also went up to, so it was very cute having the three generations up there singing the German Christmas carols."
Shaw said they had roughly 130 people in attendance, many of whom joined the choir in singing Christmas carols throughout the concert. The fact those attendees donated $2,000 was amazing Shaw said, noting that one of the original conductors of the choir always told her being able to give back to your community is part of a choir's DNA.
Following the concert, Shaw said the choir received a donation of its own from South Cariboo Community Community Enhancement Foundation president Lisa dePaoli and secretary/treasurer Maddi Newman. They presented them with a cheque for $2,000 to help fund the choir's activities.
Shaw said this donation will be "life-changing" for the choir which has struggled to make ends meet since the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though they were inactive during the first few years of the pandemic, Shaw remarked they still had bills to pay and these fees were paid for using the small pot of money the choir had saved.
"Instead of just being on a shoestring budget wondering if we're going to make enough to be able to buy an ad in the paper for the start-up of choir, now we have breathing room and we can buy new music," Shaw said with visible delight. "The grant has been life-altering for us, it's changed what we can do."
With this money in hand, Shaw said the club can start to plan more ambitiously for their spring season. She remarked they are hoping to host a choral retreat of some kind in the spring and potentially revive the Parade of Choirs, an annual concert that was held in Williams Lake for years. Shaw said if they do revive the Parade of Choirs she hopes to invite Williams Lake's Quintet Plus, the Ashcroft Community Choir and one or two of the four choirs based out of Kamloops.
In the meantime, Shaw said she and the other choir conductors are looking forward to the beginning of their spring season in January. Starting on Jan. 15 the choir will resume practice with registration open for the first three rehearsals of the month. The choir meets every Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the 100 Mile United Church.
Shaw welcomes anyone looking to sing to join the choir on either Jan. 15, 22 or 29. Anyone with further questions is invited to reach out to her at 250-945-4080 or at pilgersh@shaw.ca.
