News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2026
Contact: Joanne Collier (403) 308-4997 OR joanneccollier@gmail.com
“SPRING SING” AT GEM OF THE WEST
On April 25th at 3:00 p.m., Vox Musica Choral Society, joined by Ventus Women’s Choir, will present “Spring Sing” at the Gem of the West Museum in Coaldale. Featuring a variety of choral works, this matinee concert will offer southern Alberta audiences shimmering harmonies and rousing tunes in the magical acoustic space of the museum’s double vaulted ceiling.
Vox Musica, a 70-member mixed voice choir, directed by Joanne Collier, will begin with several selections performed at their recent Lethbridge concert. These will include classical works by Mendelssohn and Mozart, short pieces by contemporary composers Jean Berger and Ola Gjeilo, as well as several movements from the Fauré Requiem. Rounding out these sacred selections will be a set of folk songs including the TikTok hit “The Wellermen” and East Coast favourite, “Song for the Mira”. Violinist Airdrie Ignas will add a Celtic flavour to these traditional songs and the choir will also be supported by pianist Mary Lee Voort.
Ventus Women’s Choir, directed by Regan Brooks, is a community ensemble that focuses on works written for treble voices, presenting repertoire that uplifts, inspires, and highlights the expressive range of women’s voices in choral music. The choir has earned recognition at regional and provincial festivals, with featured performances at the Rocky Mountain Music Festival and the Kantorei Choral Festival. Highlights include first place at the National Music Festival and being named finalists with honourable mention in the CBC Radio National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Ventus has been selected to perform at PODIUM 2026, Canada’s national bilingual choral conference and festival which will be held from May 14-17, in Victoria, BC.
Their diverse program will include “When Breezes Blow” by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel in which Airdrie Ignas will return to collaborate along with pianist Cheryl Emery-Karapita. Also sung will be a piece by Cree composer Sherryl Sewepagaham and “Parting Glass,” popularized by the Wailin’ Jennys. The concert finale will bring both choirs, piano, and violin together for “Crowded Table”, a song recorded by American country music supergroup, The Highwomen.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to perform together for the Coaldale community at the lovely Gem of the West Museum,” says Collier. “It is particularly satisfying for Vox to perform with Ventus and wish them well on their way to Victoria. We are fortunate to have an ensemble of this calibre in our community.”
For choral music lovers, this afternoon concert is not to be missed. Tickets are available in advance at Eventbrite, voxmusicalethbridge.org, CASA, the door on event night. Adults $25, Students $15, Children under 12 free with an adult.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2026
Contact: Joanne Collier (403) 308-4997 OR joanneccollier@gmail.com
On March 28th at 7:30 p.m., Vox Musica Choral Society, joined by Musaeus String Quartet (MSQ), local musicians and soloists Peter Monaghan and Reid Roberts, will present “Requiem” at Southminster United Church. Featuring Gabriel Fauré’s exquisite “Requiem” along with other short, captivating choral works, this concert will offer Lethbridge audiences shimmering harmonies in the glorious acoustics of this historic local venue.
Complementing the “Requiem” will be four pieces sung by the voices of Vox Musica that will wrap listeners in healing beauty: Felix Mendelssohn’s 8-voice a cappella motet, Richte, mich Gott, is a setting of Psalm 43 and prayer for deliverance seeking light and truth.
Written when the young Fauré was only 19 years old, Cantique de Jean Racine is another heartfelt prayer for light and guidance; this exquisite piece will be accompanied by Mary Lee Voort on Southminster’s magnificent Casavant pipe organ.
Also joining the choir will be Musaeus String Quartet, now establishing themselves as MSQ. These talented musicians, Alina Khvatova, Airdrie Ignas, Gabe Kastelic and Mark Rogers, will offer Puccini’s Crisantemi, an elegy written on the death of the composer’s friend and named after the traditional Italian flower of mourning. The quartet will collaborate with the choir on Mozart’s Ave verum corpus which was written towards the end of this composer’s life, and is arguably one of the most simple and perfect works of his extraordinary career. The Ground, based on the final movement from Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass”, will be accompanied by string quartet and piano, conveying a message of peace and the idea of being grounded at the end of a long, emotional journey.
The Fauré “Requiem” will see the instrumental ensemble expand as eight additional local musicians join MSQ and the choir. The roster will be completed with soloists Peter Monaghan, bass and young Reid Roberts, treble. First performed in 1888 at a funeral service at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, the Requiem has undergone several revisions over time, with this performance edited by John Rutter being very close to Fauré’s 1893 version. Requiem depicts the timelessness of human existence with texts that were personally chosen by Fauré, emphasizing the themes of hope, light, and above all, peace.
Vox Musica’s musical director, Joanne Collier, shares that “the music is timeless and exquisite. Fauré chose to leave out many parts of the traditional liturgy that depict hell and damnation, choosing instead to lead us on a journey of longing, sorrow, hope, and eventually, a beautiful and blissful peace.”
For lovers of choral music, this concert is not to be missed. Tickets are available in advance at Eventbrite, voxmusicalethbridge.org, CASA, the door on event night. Adults $25, Students $15, Children under 12 free with an adult.