The Canadian College of Performing Arts is proud to take the stage once again for a public Concert of Remembrance. The event was suspended last year due to COVID-19.
The Concert of Remembrance returns to Oak Bay High on Nov. 9 after a year hiatus due to COVID-19 protocols. The concert, an annual partnership between the college, District of Oak Bay and the Band of the 5th (B.C.) Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, features a performance by approximately 50 students from the school’s two-year diploma program, preceded by songs from the regimental band.
“CCPA’s Concert of Remembrance has always been about students coming together for the first time as one choir to sing beautiful, reverent harmonies while honouring sacrifice and understanding the importance of giving back to the community,” Meredith Zwicker, concert music director and CCPA vocal ensemble instructor, said in a release.
This year’s concert features well-known wartime classics with the addition of contemporary remembrance music from Canadian artists such as Leonard Cohen, Sarah Slean and The Trews.
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The regimental band’s program this year is, in part, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the artillery in Canada and members are dedicating the concert to all artillery men and women who have served over the years. They will perform familiar marches from the Parade Square and the Broadway stage, traditional English and American folk songs and end their performance with the beautiful Chorale and Alleluia by Howard Hanson.
The presentation is woven together with a tapestry of poems, letters and dialogue from first-hand accounts from soldiers and their families.
In keeping with current public health protocols, audience members are required to wear masks and provide valid ID and proof of vaccination.
Tickets are complimentary, though audience members are encouraged to make a donation; proceeds go to the Esquimalt Military Family Resource Centre and the Canadian Heritage Arts Society.
The concert is Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dave Dunnet Community Theatre at Oak Bay High, 2121 Cadboro Bay Rd. In-person and livestream tickets are available, by reservation only, at tickets.ccpacanada.com.
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