The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Reason.to.Celebrate: Laudate.Singers Mark. 10th. Anniversary.Season. In a w o r l d w h e r e c o n c e r t v i o l i n i s t s a n d o p e r a s i n g e r s h a v e t o be m a r k e t e d like p o p stars e v e n t o m a k e a blip o n t h e public's r a d a r , h o w is s o m e t h i n g s o r e l a t i v e l y e s o t e r i c a s a c l a s s i c a l c h a m b e r c h o i r t o survive, let a l o n e t h r i v e , f o r as l o n g as t e n y e a r s ? F o r t h e L a u d a t e S i n g e r s , t h e a n s w e r is t h r e e - f o l d : (1) develop centuries, an extraordinarily varied (2) repertoire seek out that spans S p a n i s h , H e b r e w , Finnish, Québécois, a n d C o a s t Salish traditions, (to n a m e o n l y a f e w ) . They have t a k e n every opportunity to collaborate with other ensembles; recently, a fruitful repertoire includes everything f r o m Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance to Classical, Romantic and Contemporary w o r k s . . . a n d n o t only f r o m t h e W e s t e r n European canon but also f r o m t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n , C h i n e s e , Japanese, Filipino, cultures a n d genres; innovative, s t i m u l a t i n g c o l l a b o r a t i o n s w i t h o t h e r e n s e m b l e s ; a n d (3) l i v e on the cutting edge of contemporary choral music, by by partnership with the innovative Vancouver Inter-Cultural continually commissioning and performing new works O r c h e s t r a l e d t o t h e c h o i r ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a g a l a t r i b u t e t o His Holiness t h e Dalai L a m a at t h e O r p h e u m . Canadian composers. L a u d a t e Singers w a s b o r n o f c o n d u c t o r Lars Kaario's love o f c h o r a l m u s i c a n d his s t r o n g desire t o w o r k w i t h a h i g h - c a l i b r e , professional c h a m b e r choir based o n the North Shore. "Ten years a g o , t h e r e w a s n o o t h e r s u c h e n s e m b l e in N o r t h o r W e s t Vancouver," Together remembers choir Kaario. "In f a c t , t h e r e still accompanist isn't." Mary that Finally, L a u d a t e S i n g e r s h a v e - q u i t e l i t e r a l l y - p u t t h e i r m o n e y w h e r e t h e i r m o u t h is, w i t h r e s p e c t t o k e e p i n g C a n a d i a n c h o r a l m u s i c a l i v e a n d r e l e v a n t . A n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e i r m a n d a t e is t o c o m m i s s i o n n e w w o r k s every year a n d they have maintained a composer-in-residence program since 1 9 9 5 . A u d i e n c e s at with manager/rehearsal Laudate Singers' concerts are almost always guaranteed the thrill o f k n o w i n g that s o m e o f t h e m u s i c they are listening t o has n e v e r b e e n h e a r d in p u b l i c b e f o r e . McKinney, Kaario assembled a mixed 24-voice ensemble gave its i n a u g u r a l c o n c e r t on November 1 8 , 1 9 9 5 a t St. Andrew's United Church, performing an ambitious programme t h a t r a n g e d f r o m " s t a n d a r d s " (a B a c h m o t e t a n d a m a s s b y Palestrina) t o c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r k s by Sibelius a n d C a n a d i a n c o m p o s e r s Barrie C a b e n a a n d Imant R a m i n s h . f r o m t h e start, invitation Laudate's as a first s e a s o n guest choir Well-received an True t o f o r m , t h e choir's t e n t h anniversary c e l e b r a t i o n o n April 2 3 r d w i l l f e a t u r e t h e w o r l d p r e m i è r e s o f Cantus commissioned from internationally renowned Laudabilis, Canadian culminated with at the c o m p o s e r Imant R a m i n s h , a n d a n e w w o r k w r i t t e n as a gift to t h e c h o i r o n its t e n t h b i r t h d a y b y Tyler P e t e r s e n , w h o w a s L a u d a t e ' s first c o m p o s e r - i n - r e s i d e n c e . to appear prestigious I n t e r n a t i o n a l C h o r a l K a t h a u m i x w i n P o w e l l River. Since t h e n , K a a r i o a n d L a u d a t e Singers have c o n t i n u e d as they began, d e m o n s t r a t i n g their w i l l i n g n e s s t o try a n y t h i n g at least o n c e - musically s p e a k i n g , t h a t is! Their e v e r - e x p a n d i n g 10 M a r c h I A p r i l C o m i n g full circle in m o r e w a y s t h a n o n e , t h e anniversary c o n c e r t w i l l i n c l u d e a s e l e c t i o n o f f a v o u r i t e s f r o m t h e past decade: music f r o m the Renaissance to the Romantic period. I