NORTH Shore fans of choral music are in for a treat as the B.C. Boys Choir performs both tonight at the Kay Meek Centre and Dec. 4 at Centennial Theatre.
"The Centennial Theatre show will be a bit more of a Christmas show," said artistic director Tony Araujo. "We'll do some Christmasy stuff in the Kay Meek Show, but we won't do as much caroling. We'll do a fair bit of non-Christmas music on Friday. People will hear beautiful voice soprano classics like 'Panis Angelicus' and some more contemporary Christmas arrangements when they're joined by our changed voices, our baritones."
Araujo is involved with as many as 10 choirs at a time, and said the B.C. Boys Choir has sustained both its recruitment and audience through a respect for tradition. Founded in 1968 by Donald Forbes, the choir has seen only two other conductors, Gerald Van Wyck and Araujo.
"There's only been three conductors in 40-something years," said Araujo. "There are also some traditions that have been maintained over those years. For example at our Christmas concert we end every concert with 'Silent Night' and in our spring concerts, we end every concert with 'God Be With You Until We Meet Again.' For our alumni that come to hear the show, married men that used to be boy sopranos in the choir, they'll remember those two pieces because those are songs Mr. Forbes instilled in us. It's a tradition Gerry maintained and I maintained."
The choir is not affiliated with any particular church, but does perform sacred as well as secular songs. B.C. Boys Choir operates a feeder program - Songwave - as well as several town choirs that prepare boys to audition for the 30-to-40-boy touring choir, which is the lineup that will perform on the North Shore. Drawn from schools all over the Lower Mainland, the touring choir travels around B.C., the United States and around the world.
"We've toured all over Europe, Asia, Australia. That's a big part of being a member of the B.C. Boys Choir," Araujo said.
As well as putting in two hours a week for rehearsal, the boys are also expected to absorb as many as 40 different songs each year.
"It's a lot," Araujo said. "For a 10-year-old boy to be doing 20 pieces every three to four months, it's a bit of an expectation. There's a commitment there. But with that, comes a great reward."
For Araujo, singing and the teaching of singing goes far beyond just putting on a show.
"I have a deep interest in the transformative potential of the choral music experience; changing lives. My PhD work in depth psychology is about transformation and individuation through the choral music experience. I'm an educator and I work with boys as young as eight, and also adults and adolescents. I'm interested in a way of teaching that reaches the whole person through the vehicle of choral education. The way that one approaches education, there's something numinous, a numinous potential in performance both for the singer and the audience. It can do something to a person.
"This music has the ability to change me in a way that is for the better. It's going to give me a deeper sense of self. I think it's really important for young people these days that they are taught in a way that physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and intellectually, they are integrated learners. In layman's terms, how does one teach to the heart, not just the mind?"
Many B.C. Boys Choir alumni have gone on to successful careers in music, including Fraser Walters of The Canadian Tenors.
"There are many singers working in Vancouver who have connections to the B.C. Boys Choir," said Araujo. "That's great when that happens, but my main objective is to instill a lifetime love of singing."
The B.C. Boys Choir is still accepting boys to its Songwave program and touring choir. Visit www.bcboyschoir.org for details and for ticket information for both North Shore performances.
