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HISTORY OF THE NEWCOMBE SINGERS
In 1967, members of the
British Columbia Civil Service formed an informal choir to provide musical entertainment
during the Christmas season in the Rotunda of the B.C. Legislature for
colleagues and the general public. Our first conductor was Bob Kroeger. With
the increasing demand on the group's musical activities, it became necessary to
chose a name for this choral group. So in 1970 the name of "Newcombe
Glee Club" was chosen after the auditorium we performed in, and Dennis
Sheppard was appointed music director. A special programme was put together
commemorating every decade of the Province's history and performed locally as
well as up and down Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
In 1975 Lorna Griffiths became the choir's new director. Our permanent name was
chosen, and we have been known as the NEWCOMBE SINGERS ever since.
Bill Brown, who had been a member of the
choir's bass section, took over the baton in 1982 and soon succeeded in
developing a stronger male representation in the choir and to produce a
virtually new sound. The Newcombe Singers developed a repertoire "from
Bach to the Beatles" and were singing entirely from memory. Regular
performances in the capital regional area brought musical entertainment to
seniors' centres, lodges, hospitals and community groups. The choir continued
to provide the musical background for official functions at the B.C. Parliament
Buildings, from opening ceremonies of the Legislature to Remembrance Day
services, Christmas caroling during advent season. 1985 brought participation
in the Powell River Choral Festival, appearances in a TV telethon and a concert
trip to Vancouver.
Coming from the Naden Band, Alan Jacob
brought along much rhythm and expanded the choral repertoire to folk music and
spirituals of North America when he became
choir director in 1989, without disregarding the lighter muse, popular tunes,
vergreens and selections from musicals.
Alan Whitmore took the baton in 1990 and
exposed us to a repertoire of largely Canadian context which was successfully
performed during a number of concerts in Victoria and Duncan. A joint concert
with the Kapfenberg Choir from Austria
brought an interesting confrontation of the folk music of these two countries.
From 1991 to 2006, Simon Leung was our
choir conductor. With a repertoire largely expanded to classical music -
without neglecting choir favourites from our vast music library - we saw an
increase in membership and an expansion of our male sections to balance sound.
During the 1992/93 season we hosted the Vancouver Chinese Choir at a
joint concert in Victoria,
for which occasion we added Chinese to the list of languages we
sing. Participation in the Victoria Music Festival brought a 2nd place
finish in our category, having to relinquish victory to a competing
professional choir. This
season also included the premiere performance of Joan Gosselin's "Elizabethan
Love Poems" March 13, 1993 in Victoria,
with the composer present at "The Met" and enthusiastically
applauded. We felt honoured when Joan Gosselin accepted our commission to
compose a song cycle for us on the occasion of our 25th anniversary.
The highlight of the 1993/94 season was
definitely a concert trip to Hong Kong, with performances at St. John's Cathedral on Hong Kong
Island (noon hour concert series), Li
Po Chun
United World
College in Kowloon
and North Point
Alliance Church
in Hong Kong. To recuperate, Newcombe Singers
decided to stay closer to home during the 1994/95 season, although concert
trips to Duncan and Vancouver (Orpheum Theatre) did materialize.
It was a sad occasion that took us to Qualicum Beach on March 17, 1996, to celebrate the memory of
Joan Gosselin, with whom we have had close association for many years. In the
joyous performance of Joan Gosselin's music we remember her as the warm,
wonderful human being and good friend she was to us.
Later during the 1995/96
season, we went on another concert tour abroad, this time to Germany and Austria. We participated in an
international choir and music festival in Neuhuetten in the Neckar Valley.
Our stay in Kapfenberg, Austria, brought not only renewed contacts to the
singers with the Stahlklang Choir, whom we had hosted in Victoria several years
ago, but also insight into medieval festivities
at the old fortress and a joint concert to a capacity audience. In Vienna we performed at Piaristen Church
together with the Vienna Schubertbund, in aid of the restauration of the
historic Bruckner organ, which, as we understand, has been completed meanwhile.
In the picturesque city of Salzburg we performed
at Hellbrunn Castle, barely escaping a thorough
drenching at the water plays of renaissance bishop Marcus Sitticus.
Our last performance weekend on this eventful concert tour brought us to the
small town of Andorf, where the local choirs gave us a taste of austrian
hospitality, where a formal concert was attended by a capacity crowd, and workshops
with the local choir leaders gave us insight into austrian folk music, some of
which we incorporated into our standard repertoire.
In 1996 a small chamber group was formed
under the direction of Simon Leung, the Newcombe Chamber Singers, drawing
singers from among our ranks who wish to explore different styles of
musical repertoire.
In 1999, the Newcombe Singers were one of the
core choirs at the B.C.Choral Federation Chorfest in Powell
River.
Under the direction of Robert Cooper, we enjoyed a challenging weekend of
eclectic music, culminating in a capacity audience concert. Chorfest 2000
"Fanfare for the Future" was held in Vancouver, and
again we participated as core choir under the direction of Iwan Edwards in the
challenging rehearsals and final performance of Brahms' Requiem at the Orpheum.
In 2001, the Newcombe Singers joined forces
with the Victoria Civic Orchestra under the baton of George Corwin, to perform
Brahm's Liebeslieder Waltzes, a cooperation which was renewed this year with an
all-English programme, presented in Duncan as well as Victoria in May 2004.
In 2002 we were joined by Tatiana Harrison, accompanist extraordinaire.
The 2002/03 season was dedicated to cooperation with other choirs: We performed
together with the choirs of St. Mary the
Virgin Anglican Church and Oak Bay United Church
in a special concert on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee,
"Last Night of the Proms", in September 2002. Our Christmas
Concert in December 2002 brought together Newcombe Singers, the choristers of
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church and the choristers of the Chinese Alliance
Church and a hand-picked
baroque orchestra in a performance of
Handel's Messiah. In February 2003 we travelled to Richmond, B.C. for a joint concert with the Richmond
Chorus under the baton of Brigid Coult, while we hosted them in Victoria in March
2003. We finished the
season with a joint concert with Island Singers under the direction of Inez St.
Dennis in May.
The 2003/04 season started with a rousing '2nd
Last Night of the Proms' concert, celebrated together with the choirs of St.
Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Oak Bay, and the Madrona Chamber Choir
and the University Brass Quintet. Christmas concerts were held at St. Mary's as
well as James
Bay United Church. We were invited to
participate in a traditional Korean concert at Christ Church Cathedral,
Victoria in April, together with a Korean orchestra, chorus and Korean and
Canadian soloists. In May we participated in concert performances of all
English music with the Victoria Civic Orchestra in Victoria and Duncan, under
the baton of Dr. George Corwin. We finished our choral season with formal
concerts at St. Mary's, Emmanuel
Baptist
Church
and a trip to Princeton, B.C. upon invitation
of the Princeton Concert Society.
In the 2004-05
season, the 3rd annual “Last Night of the Proms” concert was held in
September. In October, we hosted the Men’s Choir and Schuhplattler Dance Group
from Weissbriach, Carinthia,
Austria at the Cathedral School auditorium. We performed our
traditional Christmas concert at St. Mary’s and joined Island Singers under the
baton of Inez St. Dennis in a seasonal concert at St. Dunstan’s, Gordon
Head. We participated in the 2nd annual
Korean concert at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Victoria. Our year-end
concert took place at St. Mary’s Oak Bay.
During the summer break, we hosted two Austrian choralgroups, the
Community Choir from Jennersdorf, Burgenland, and the 'acapella vocal
ensemble', also from Burgenland.
The 2005-06
season started out cheerfully with another "Last Night of the Proms",
followed by the traditional engagements at the B.C. Legislature. We were
fortunate to be offered a chance to host Chor Leoni with their Remembrance Day
concert at St. Mary's. We participated in various seasonal performances, and
had fun providing musical entertainment at the wedding of one of our singers.
Another concert with the Korean Sorimoum Choir at St. Andrew's Cathedral was
followed by a weekend choir retreat on Gabriola Island which included a benefit
performance in conjunction with the Gabriola Music Festival, and finally a
joint concert with a choir from Vienna Austria, "Chorvereinigung
Wien-Neubau", with whom we had performed a benefit for the restoration
fund of the Bruckner Organ at Piaristen Kirche in Vienna 10 years ago. Our
Spring Concert this season honoured the 250th anniversary of Mozart 'with Tea'.
For the 2006 - 2008 seasons we were joined by conductor Sue
Doman. Each year began with a rousing "Last Night of the
Proms" for which we were joined by St. Mary's Choir, the Monterey Centre
Choir and Bel Canto Singers. Once again we were able to welcome Chor Leoni back
to Victoria with their Remembrance Day Concert; we performed at the B.C.Legislature,
and were engaged in a variety of Christmas performances including the 'Oak Bay
Sea of Lights' in conjunction with Oak Bay's Centennial Celebrations. Vocal training
workshops and the hosting of an Austrian choir added to our extra-curricular
activities.
Our 40th Anniversary Concert, held Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 2:30 pm
at St Mary's Anglican Church, showcased 4 decades of singing together as a
mixed choral group in Victoria.
Several former conductors, accompanists and singers were in attendance and
joined the current choir members in the singing of "Jacob's Ladder".
Memorabilia gathered during those 40 years of song gave the audience a glimpse
into our past; our enthusiastic, polished performance gave them a glimpse into
our future.
In
September, 2008 we began rehearsing under the baton of Simon Capet with piano
accompanist, Kim Cousineau. In partnership with the BC Choral Federation, we
organized vocal workshops with outstanding choral conductors/educators opening
these events to the community-at-large.Our spring concert title
"Songs of Nature" was inspired by Dvorak and, in addition to 4 composers
of the Romantic period, included a 21st Century piece arranged in SATB for us
by local composer, Tim Francis. For the second year, we presented an award
to the school choir judged the best performance at the Greater Victoria
Performing Arts Festival. The winner's, St. Patrick's Primary School
Choir, were our featured guests. Simon's conducting career went
international when, in January, he conducted for Ken Lavigne, a tenor from Vancouver Island, in concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC. In
September 2009, we will be assembling for the 43rd year. We welcome Peter
Dent as our new conductor and have wished Simon every success as he pursues a
music career centred in New York City.
The
Newcombe Singers is a member choir of the B.C.Choral Federation.
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