Music can uplift souls, and in this case, raise money to go towards The Mustard Seed. A good friend of mine had invited me to see this wonderful benefits concert at the Jack Singer Hall at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. “Music for a Winter Evening,” in its 10th annual Christmas fundraising concert, was performed by the wonderful Corpus Christi Male Chorale and guest star, Juno award winning artist Steve Bell.
The Mustard Seed Affordable Housing Development will provide 224 units of stable housing for Calgary’s homeless population, with all proceeds from the “Music for a Winter Evening” benefits concert going to this cause. Encouraging patrons to help furnish these units by donations, the concert proved to be very special to the Mustard Seed in other ways as well. Several Mustard Seed clients were able to attend the benefits concert, sponsored by wonderful and generous individuals that allowed the beautiful music of a live concert experience to touch very deserving hearts.
The Corpus Christi Male Choral was quite an inspirational and fantastic group to watch for me, watching for the first time, a purely male choir perform.
The concert started in an upbeat and warm atmosphere, as the Foothills Brass Quintet, a group of five versatile musicians from across North America, performed a lively “Carols From the Loft.” Keeping with tradition, accompanied by organ, played by Chellan Hoffman, was an audience sing along with the Corpus Christi Male Chorale to “O Come, All Ye Faithful” (with lyrics handily printed in the programs to jog our memories), a song that evoked the feelings of journeying and triumph. Russel Moore, the humorous and entertaining masters of ceremonies of the evening, had stepped in to replace Darrel Janz, unable to attend due to a medical injury. Russel Moore had a great flair for improvising funny questions and jokes to entertain the evening’s audience, such as “why don’t sheep shrink in the rain?” and other hilarious food for thought.
The Corpus Christi Male Choral is an all male choir, providing their members to socialize with those of the same spiritual faith in their community, creating beautiful music, and expressing themselves in the medium of choral singing. The choir has been increasingly participating in fundraiser efforts for churches, relief agencies and international aid projects. In conjunction with the Mustard Seed, the choir had released a Christmas CD, “A Christmas Collection of Music and Miracles”.
Several of my favourite performances by the Corpus Christi Male Chorale included “Fum, Fum, Fum!”, songs sung by Steve Bell, and classics such as “O Tannebaum” (O Christmas Tree), “The Little Drummer Boy”, and “O Holy Night.” These include the heart melting and smooth sound of the male’s choir tenor soloist, Derek Johnson, possessing a voice that had instantly touched my heart and stir the emotions of joy and happiness. “The Little Drummer Boy” was performed quite well, with several musicians singing the lyrics of the song, while a small selected group of the members channeled their voices into uniform and low drumbeats, making the piece amazing to hear. Unlike a traditional choir made up of women and men, the absence of an eclectic mix proved to be extremely astounding as well. Smooth, rich notes of harmonious male voices admirably filled the Jack Singer Concert Hall with amazing rings resonating off the ceilings, a sure indicator of well trained choirs of their amazing control and projection. The acoustics in the Jack Singer Concert Hall in my seats, balcony dress circle, were simply superb, having heard more clearly the vibrants rings of the male choir bouncing off the ceiling. Of course, seating in the Jack Singer Concert Hall depends on personal taste, as the seats higher up offer a great capture of the fantastic rings of voices, and isn’t too loud, but with main orchestra seats funnel sounds of the performances on stage at a greater volume and patrons are closer towards guest soloists to view hand movements, such as this guest artist, Steve Bell, on his guitar.
Steve Bell is an exponential singer, with Billboard Magazine calling Steve “a Canadian musical treasure.” Definitely a Canadian treasure, Steve is a devoted artist to music and his faith, producing fifteen albums as a Canadian independent artist, and has a won a host of Canadian music awards, including two JUNO awards.
Unfortunately, due to a losing battle from succumbing to sickness, Steve Bell apologized to the audience for the quality of his voice for the evening’s concert, but I was blown away from the clarity and loud projection of his incredible voice. If Steve Bell was indeed as sick as he claimed, it sure did not translate into his sound as most ordinary souls suffer from. Rich, and emotionally compelling, Steve painted beautiful journeys surrounding the theme of Christmas to the audience, with heartwarming bellows and a cheerful composure. Speaking briefly to give context to the audience of his upcoming songs, a truly memorable performance was given surrounding the question, “What ever happened to the Three Kings?” Steve’s original composition spoke of love, compassion and joy, and was sung with fantastic energy. The song that closed his slot in the concert also included two accompanying viola and violin, adding a most fantastic and complementary addition to the warmth of Steve Bell’s voice.
My favourite Christmas carol, “Angels we heave Heard on High,” a traditional French carol, was excitedly offered an audience sing along carol, and as I discovered to my delight, is almost a tradition usually included in most Christmas concerts. All in all, that evening’s performance of the expression of peace and love on Earth was a joyous celebration of the holiday spirit, befitting “music for a winter evening.” I recommend for all to enjoy the music offered in the Jack Singer Concert Hall, to support the Mustard Seed’s aim to assist the homeless, and Happy Holidays!
