While doctors may suggest an apple a day, Heidi Epp, artistic director for the Richmond Youth Honour Choir, recommends singing to feed the soul.
This September will mark the start of the choir’s 15th season named “Sing for Life!” The theme will celebrate the past 15 years of making music and what the future holds for the choir.
“Singing is so beneficial to the soul and it’s something everybody can learn to do and you can do it for life,” said Epp.
It is a milestone for the non-profit organization that was originally a part of the Richmond School District. Once funding was pulled, parents formed the RYHC.
“The purpose is to give the best choral teaching and programming, developing personal vocal skills, choral skills, and performances,” said Epp.
What started off as a single choir has now expanded to three different divisions across the ages of five to 19. “Nobody dreamed that we would come to the level and the size of choir that we have,” said Epp. “No one dreamed it would come that far.”
With many public schools no longer offering music education programs, there are few opportunities for children to learn musical literacy. This is why the RYHC created its Prelude Choir, which works with kids as young as five to provide an education that can’t be found anywhere else. The RYHC also extended its age group to fill the gap for teens that are out of high school, but are too young to join an adult choir.
As one of the directors of the choir, Epp can’t help but notice the confidence and interpersonal skills that children gain from being a part of a team and how these values carry over into the community.
“Sing loud enough so you can hear yourself, but not so loud that you can’t hear your neighbour,” tells Epp to the choir.
In past seasons, the RYHC has performed for the 2010 Winter Olympics and travelled internationally to Japan, singing in languages such as Iroquois, German, and Japanese. There are some big plans in the making for this season as well, including a commission with internationally acclaimed, Juno nominated composer Timothy Corlis for a concert in Ottawa to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday next July. For Christmas, the group will be collaborating with renowned local performer Perry Dickison, amongst other talented guests throughout the year for its development programs. The choir’s next event will be a free Remembrance Day concert held at Fraser View Church.
The choir will be holding auditions for this upcoming season on June 28 at Peace Mennonite Church from 4 to 7 p.m. For more information, visit RYHC.org.
