MH Concert Band welcoming special guest to Winter Concert

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on November 28, 2024.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

With only a week left of rehearsals until the Medicine Hat Concert Band hits the Esplanade stage, residents can look forward to a special guest at the annual Winter Concert.

“It’s our annual December concert in the Esplanade with the two bands. But this year, in addition to the two bands, we also have a community choir that’s joining,” said Allegro band conductor Curtis Perrin.

The choir is called Medicine Hat Sings, led by Jennifer Brown, and made its debut earlier this year with a collection of gospel music as a concert in June. Since then, the choir has grown significantly, said Perrin, and will be bringing 60-plus people onto the stage alongside the bands.

This new choir fills a gap that has been left in the Medicine Hat music scene for years, said Perrin, after Ralph Brown passed away. The band is excited to perform with a group of singers, which Perrin says is a unique and challenging experience unlike pure instrumental or pure choral pieces.

“It’s been a lot of fun preparing music for this, because I sang with the group in June and had a blast, and then now, preparing music for the band to play with the choir has been a whole lot of fun because it’s a whole different musical challenge,” said Perrin. “I’m really looking forward to seeing when we pack, you know, upwards of 100 people on stage at the Esplanade, to see what kind of sound we get when the band and the choir are singing or and playing together.”

The Allegro band has put together an arrangement of the Night Before Christmas for its solo pieces, complete with narrator, while the Andante band will be featuring pieces from the Polar Express. Broadway-style holiday tunes and the hallelujah chorus will also steal the show, before the concert finishes with their classic sing-along.

“There’s nothing that’s going to send people off into the holidays, like having almost 1,000 people all singing Christmas tunes together,” said Perrin.

At the time of writing, only roughly 30 more tickets are available for the Dec. 7 concert, which takes place at 7:30 p.m, so those interested are encouraged to act quickly.

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