The founders of the Vivo Children’s Choir are inviting former choir members and their families to a reunion gathering and Christmas concert – before they make their final curtain call with the choir.
Carrie Taylor, Anne Wilson Unger, and Ingrid Verseveldt, who are all accomplished musicians and music educators, founded the New West-based choir in 2002 to create a musical experience for their children and others in the area. Verseveldt retired two years ago, and Taylor and Wilson Unger will follow suit after leading their final show at the Dec. 7 winter concert.
The choir is inviting all Vivo alumni to attend an alumni dress rehearsal on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Olivet Baptist Church, 613 Queens Ave. – the same place where the choir has been practising since its inception. It will be a chance to catch up and sing together with the founders one last time – even if you cannot make the concert.
The main event, the Vivo Winter Concert and Celebration, is on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3:30 p.m. at New Westminster Christian Reformed Church, 8255 13th Ave. Burnaby. The alumni call time is 3 p.m., doors open at 3:15 p.m., the concert is from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and a reception is from 4:30 to 5:30.
“We would love to have as many alumni join us as possible – even if you are not able to attend the dress rehearsal or visa versa,” Wilson Unger said. “Please spread the word to as many Vivo alumni as you can.”
Before the founders turn the reins over to Melodie Langevin, who is the choir’s new artistic director starting in January, Wilson Unger and Taylor are hoping to connect with as many alumni (and choir parents) as possible. They hope folks who have participated in the choir in the past two decades will join them on Dec. 5 for an alumni get-together, where they will sing a few of the songs to be performed at the Dec. 7 Christmas concert.
The founders of Vivo Children’s Choir all attended the University of Victoria together. Later, as parents living in New West and South Burnaby, they decided to form the choir.
“We all had children, and we had nowhere locally for them to sing,” Wilson Unger explained. “So, we just went, ‘we all have degrees in music; let's start a choir.’”
The Vivo Children’s Choir does two concerts each year – a Christmas concert and a year-end concern in April or early May. The founders learned early on that it was best to wrap up the choir season – before lacrosse season.
“We just kind of went, ‘You know what? Let's not compete; let's just finish, and then the kids can carry on,” Wilson Unger said. “Because you want them to be part of the arts, but you also want them to keep active.”
Hundreds of kids have participated in the choir and many parents have volunteered for the non-profit since it formed 22 years ago.
“For us, it’s all about just reconnecting with them,” Wilson Unger said. “It would be fun to see them and get a chance to reconnect before we retire.”
For many kids, singing in the choir was a formative part of their growing up years. The all-inclusive, non-auditioned choir is open to kids aged seven to 14 (grades 2 to 8).
“Choirs are connecting,” Wilson Unger said. “It's a community. It's a team.”
Wilson Unger said there is something very physical and emotional for people about producing sound out of their bodies, and that is a personal experience that connects people on an emotional level.
“Just making sound together in a collective whole is pretty amazing,” she said. “And for kids it’s just to feel like they're part of a community.”
While some kids play team sports like lacrosse and baseball, Wilson Unger said that is not the case for all for all of the choir members.
“There's also lots of arts kids who don't want to do that,” she said. “They need a place to feel part of a team, part of a community of people.”
Reflecting back on their two decades with the choir, the founders concluded that one of the greatest things was getting to know people who they otherwise would never have known – from the kids who sang in the choir to the parents who supported their kids or served on the board of directors. While they know it’s time to retire, the founders They know this year’s final concert will be an emotional experience.
“It'll be very emotional,” Wilson Unger said. “It will be hard to say goodbye to that many years and that many kids. I think we're both good with moving on and letting someone else do it. It feels good to have done it, but it’ll be sad.
Tickets for the concert are available online. Any Vivo alumni wanting to sign up for next week’s events can sign up online.Anyone wishing to get more information about the choir can email [email protected].
