Selah Singers’ popular Christmas concerts set for this weekend

By Peggy Revell on December 1, 2017.

prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell

Bringing tidings of comfort and joy, local community choir the Selah Singers will be ushering in the holiday season this weekend with their annual Christmas concerts.

“There’s a lot of bad news going around, and this is good news,” said choir director Ralph Browne. “The kids, the orchestra, the choir, they’re so upbeat.”

For many, the annual show is the start of the Christmas season for them, said Browne, and there is no cost for the public to attend, although free will offerings are being collected.

This year’s performances at the Medicine Hat College Theatre are set for Dec. 1, 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m., and a matinee performance on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.

The choir is made up of community members from all walks of life and of all ages. It’s free to join, and there are no auditions.

“It’s a joy to work with this community group,” said Browne. “We only have one rule: Pleasure, not pressure.”

And this year, the choir hit a milestone: 100 members. As well, there are 40 members of the Selah Kids Choir.

“When we started out there were 16 of us and we had no idea where we’d go — to hit 100 that was a goal for sure,” said Browne.

The community choir’s youngest member, 12-year-old Carlie O’Connor, says she’s learned a lot since joining.

“I love that everyone is welcoming to new people, and aren’t judgeful if they’re good singers or not,” said O’Connor, explaining she’s learned how to hit correct notes and how to match pitches with everyone. “I like that they give you lots of opportunity to shine.”

The theme of this year’s performance is “The Best Christmas Ever.”

“It’s a really eclectic mix,” said Lois Taylor, who writes and directs the drama portion of the show. There’s Christmas on Broadway, secular music, humorous songs, she said, while a third of the program is about the Christmas story, with an emphasis on Jesus.

“We’re very proud of it, Ralph is an absolutely amazing director,” said Taylor. “It really is an amazing sound.”

Last year the theatre was filled, so had to turn people away at the door. To solve this, the number of shows this year has been increased.

Another change this year is that the choir has obtained tax-free status, meaning they can now issue tax receipts to donors.

Taylor said they hope this will help bring in more sponsors, which is important in keeping the show running, and free for the community.

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