Welcome to our 46th Season and to my 20th Anniversary with Chorus Niagara.

How well I remember those early days! The ambitions were simpler by comparison with today . . . find the singers, build the sound, develop the organization. Twenty years later, with the incredible support of numerous enthusiastic volunteers, the generosity of the community, and the dedication of hundreds of choristers, Chorus Niagara has grown into a mature artistic venture, with our own Children’s Choir, the Side-by-Side High School Chorale, professional administration, the commissioning of new Canadian works, a committed Board of Directors, a full concert season and a chorus now recognized across Canada as Niagara’s premiere choral ensemble! It’s been an incredible journey and one we eagerly anticipate continuing as we look forward to the creation of the Niagara Centre for the Performing Arts and a future full of creative promise for us all!

I am proud to invite you to Chorus Niagara’s 2008-2009 Season, The Power of 100, celebrating our choristers and their joy of singing. Diversity, surprise and quality have always been the hallmarks of our programming, and this year is no exception. Guest artists, premieres, classics and thrilling new works comprise this fabulous season of magnificent choral music. A powerful new oratorio, co-commissioned by Chorus Niagara from the renowned Canadian team of composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell begins our season. The Houses Stand Not Far Apart – a sweeping lyrical expression of the duality of human conflict and peaceful coexistence is coupled with Jonathan Willcocks’ Lux Perpetua, a radiantly uplifting celebration of peace and unity. Not only are these two Niagara premieres but we are thrilled to welcome back Sir David Willcocks as guest conductor for this gala event. Handel’s ever-popular Messiah once again welcomes the Christmas season with two celebratory performances. We usher in Easter with Bach’s sublime and greatest musical work of art, his Mass in B Minor. And to close this powerful season, we perform two highly contrasted and appealing masterworks: Maurice Durufle’s lyrically beautiful Requiem and Carl Orff’s blazing and percussive paean to love, Carmina Burana.

It’s a blockbuster season of four fabulous evenings of choral music, plus the Niagara premieres of two marvelous new choral scores and the return of Sir David Willcocks to our concert podium.

“Choral music helps the human spirit connect to the divine . . . lifts the heart and expands the mind.”

I hope you will enjoy The Power of 100, a season of unique choral experiences guaranteed to delight, inspire and uplift.

Robert Cooper CM
Artistic Director