Members of the TarTones choir pose following their Christmas Concert in 2022. This year's concert, Dec. 18 at St. John's Presbyterian, will feature the all-female group, Joyful Sound. Show begins at 7 p.m. and is entry by freewill offering.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat’s beloved all-men’s choir, the TarTones, are back for their annual Christmas Concert.
What started as six men with only one song to sing nearly 28 years ago has grown and expanded to a 15-man choir with a repertoire of 200-plus songs and two annual concerts, says Tom Rooke, one of the original members.
“Before you know it, we were having Christmas concerts. And that would, I can’t remember the exact year we started Christmas concerts, but it’d be around 2004, and it’s become a tradition,” said Rooke.
This year, a women’s chorus, Joyful Sound, will be joining them for the performance. As both choirs are directed by Kim Pancoast, it was simple to co-ordinate having the ladies add their voices and songs to the concert this year, further adding to the Holiday Spirit for those planning to attend.
“For our part, his particular concert is 15 guys in four-part harmony. So that makes it kind of a nice blend, it’s not just Christmas songs that you can hear on the radio,” said Rooke. “You’re going to hear something fairly unique in the four-part harmony, and it’s also some tunes that you probably aren’t familiar with, and another handful of which you are.”
Doors will open for the Dec. 18 concert at 6:30 p.m, with the show beginning at 7 p.m, located at the St. John’s Presbyterian Church. Entry is a freewill offering for entrance, and Rooke suggested there may be a chance to mingle and enjoy a warm drink with the community after the performance.
“I remember our first performance, which was kind of funny, because the audience really liked to hear what we did, but we only had one song so they said, ‘Well, sing it again.’ We sang it twice,” said Rooke. “We’ve come a long way since then.”
