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February 13, 2009
Music unites cultures
Feb. 22 concert features three Vancouver choirs.
SARA NEWHAM
It is a unique multicultural event few communities could offer. Three choirs, representing Jewish, Chinese and Italian cultures, will perform together at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby on Feb. 22 for a smorgasbord of choral singing.
"There's a flavor from all three cultures," said Hirschel Wasserman, a member of the Vancouver Jewish Men's Choir. "I think it's very unusual. Only in Canada can we bring together this kind of mix."
While each of the Vancouver Jewish Men's Choir, the Vancouver Chinese Choir Association and the Vancouver Italian Folk Choir will perform separately for about a half hour, the groups will join together for a 150-voice performance that will give the word "multicultural" its meaning, singing "La Pinciera," "Sim Shalom" and "Jasmine Flower" in their original languages. There will be very few songs in English.
Putting together the concert was not without its challenges.
"The Chinese one [song] was the most difficult one. That was a tricky one for us to learn and we'll just have to follow their lead to get the pronunciation right," said music director Stan Shear. "It's very nice to be able to share the experience of singing with other groups and to be involved with their culture. It's been beautiful and I think that's the sort of thing that should be encouraged."
For its part, the Jewish Men's Choir will perform a variety of modern Hebrew and Yiddish music, as well as Israeli songs, for a very strong Jewish flavor. The Italian crew, which usually performs a mix of spiritual, classical, folk, operatic and religious songs, is expected to perform two Neapolitan and other operatic songs, while the Chinese choir will sing well-known pop and art songs in both Cantonese and Mandarin. According to the Chinese Choir Association's Doreen Wong, her group will perform the songs "Life is Like Honey" and "Song of the Yangtze River."
"I think it's a good chance for us to sing with other ethnic choirs. It's a good chance to interact with other cultures and experience listening to and singing their songs so as to foster harmony among the cultures," said Wong.
The Jewish choir is the smallest of the three groups participating in the concert. The Chinese choir comprises 150 members, both men and women, and the Italian chorus has 52 members, including singers of German, Dutch, Polish and Asian backgrounds.
The Jewish Men's Choir began in 1999, when a group of men in the community came together to sing at weddings. The group, popular with South African weddings, where a choir is a dominant feature, realized there was a demand for a men's-only choir singing liturgical, Hebrew and Yiddish music. The Jewish Men's Choir has since done its own concerts, as well as joint presentations with other groups. "We're not stuck on any community or any congregation. We're just together for the love of singing. We're always looking for new members," said Wasserman.
The Vancouver Italian Folk Choir is one year shy of its 40th birthday, while the Chinese Choir Association is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
The Say it with a Song concert will start at 7:30 p.m. The Michael J. Fox Theatre is located at 7373 McPherson Ave., in Burnaby. Tickets are on sale for $15 and can be arranged by contacting Wasserman at 604-877-2221.
Sara Newham is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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