The Saint Croix Courier

2008 Sep 26

Voices of the Bay to perform this weekend

Celebratory concert in three locations

ST. ANDREWS — This weekend, 110 singers from around Passamaquoddy Bay will come together to perform three celebratory concerts in St. Andrews, Grand Manan, and Eastport.

Choirs around Charlotte and Washington counties have been rehearsing separately since early spring, with individuals beginning with many different levels of skill and experience. Over the summer, they have worked hard, learning four-part harmonies and refining their abilities,and now they are ready and excited to sing for the bay.

Each choir has practiced a few songs that they will sing on their own during the concerts. The choirs will then combine to sing about five songs together.

As an added feature, before the concerts, the group has gathered about 400 photos of the bay, and life lived on the bay, and will present them as a slide show, to express in photos as well as song, the connection they have to this unique area.

"Voices of the Bay" is the result of a conversation between Jean Doucet, the organist at the Wesley United Church in St. Andrews, and Hallie Bass, who is a member of the Grand Manan Community Choir

They wanted to combine their choirs for a concert. Dr.Lesley Pinder then suggested having many choirs from coastal communities participating to celebrate the bay and to raise funds for Save Passamaquoddy Bay/Canada — a grassroots group committed to keeping liquefied natural gas developers out of the region.

As the plan grew, regional choirs developed in St. Andrews, St. Stephen, Grand Manan, and Perry.

"It's really exciting to experience the enthusiasm everyone has shown towards working together on this project," said Doucet, who will be accompanying the St. Andrews choir and the mass choir.

Francie Howard, a choir member in St.Andrews, echoed that sentiment and said, "It's wonderful to see so many people wanting to do something so uplifting to celebrate this beautiful spot that we all share. The whole point is to come together and appreciate our shared communities and life lived by the water."

The concerts will take place Friday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. [AT] at Sir James Dunn Academy in St. Andrews, Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. [ET] at Shead Memorial High School in Eastport and Sunday, Sept 28 at 4 p.m. [AT] at Grand Manan Community School, Grand Manan. Tickets cost $10 (students $5) and will be available at the door.