Dear Friends,
For some time, Nick and Vanessa and the Capella Regalis team have been hoping to offer a concert as a gift to the HRM, free-of-charge to all. Their thinking was that to truly be a gift to the community, worthy of this exceptional place, the concert had to be world-class. Well, the Fauré Requiem, performed with superb orchestra, baritone Alexander Dobson, The Choir of All Saints Cathedral, and the boys, girls, and men of Capella Regalis, fits this criterion. The concert you are about to hear would be right at home in any cultural capital of the world. Thanks to the John C. Kerr Family Foundation and Edmonds Landscape and Construction Services Limited, our primary concert donors, the considerable expenses of this event have been underwritten so that money should not present a barrier to anyone wishing to attend. Like this concert, the Capella Regalis program, established in 2010, is offered free-of-charge to any young person who can commit to the schedule and has a willingness to engage in an education of the highest quality. Whenever I encounter the latest thinking on education, I realize that Capella Regalis ticks all the boxes espoused by these experts. In recent articles that draw conclusions as to why certain countries place so well on PISA tests (Programme for International Student Assessment), it has been suggested that students do better when they have a teacher who stays with them over a period of years. Nick has educated some of the Capella Regalis boys, now adults, for as many as thirteen years ; several of these former choristers are singing in the Young Men and Men’s sectio ns at today’s concert. The same will be the case with Vanessa when her recently formed girls choir matures. The core of the Capella Regalis education is discipline, focus, reliability, listening skills, analytic skills, civility, and teamwork. All these traits and values must be instilled in each member, simply to rehearse properly and sing an Evensong, much less present a concert such as the Fauré Requiem. And, speaking of teamwork, there's an aspect of the Men & Boys program that bears mentioning. Can you think of a sports team where the members range in age from 8 to 58, and the youngest are just as critical to the team as the oldest? In a men & boys choir, only the young ones can sing those soaring soprano lines. The men in the choir can no longer do that, but the boys can, and they relish making that unique contribution – at least until they can’t – and then they move to the men’s section and keep right on singing. Today ’s concert is bookended by two popular hymns for the commemoration of All Saints. These hymns call for all voices, trained and untrained, to join in with great enthusiasm, reminding us with words so appropriate to this occasion and this community: O blest communion, fellowship divine! / We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. / Alleluia, alleluia! Thank you all for coming today. Let’s hope “For All the City” becomes an annual event. ~ Paul Halley
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