Busy rehearsing for May 16th
Exciting New 2026 Season
Dear Friends and faithful supporters,
Our choir is busy practicing for our next exciting concert, featuring some of the greatest choral works by Handel, Mozart and Vivaldi. We will be performing Mozart's "Solemn Vespers" featuring one the most beautiful Soprano arias in the classical music genre. Then it's on to Vivaldi's magnificent "Magnificat", a melodic masterpiece which demands the best from our singers. Then, it's more vocal gymnastics as we present Handel's most popular Chandos Anthem, #1.
A Special Bonus for Our Loyal Patrons
Ticket Sales will begin in February with a special, exclusive discount offer to past patrons. Well be sending individual email offers soon.
All regularly priced tickets include a special "Handel Society Perk" of a 15% discount at any of Executive Table's Group's fine restaurants, in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Squamish and opening soon in Whistler. These fine restaurants regularly score as #1 in Vancouver by Trip Advisor. A special treat will see the orchestral performance of Handel's spectacular "Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba" by Handel. Stay tuned as we will soon have more details and a special discount offer of advance ticket sales exclusively for those who helped make our Christmas Messiah a standing room only SELL OUT.
A VERY SPECIAL OFFER TO STUDENTS
As part of our Youth Community Outreach Program..and to celebrate our 60th anniversary....we will be setting aside 50 Free tickets for Students on a first-come, first-serve basis. Especially of interest to voice or musical instrument students, but ALL students (show ID at door) are welcome. Its part of our continuing effort to introduce live classical music performances to youth.
TICKET PRICES
Regular – $35
Seniors – $25
Students - $20 after offer below expires.
First 50 Students - FREE
(50 limit. Show Student ID)
(Sorry, no infants or toddlers)
About "Hidden Gems" (performed May, 2023)
The Ascention Oratorio, (Cantata BWV 11)
This beautiful oratorio inexplicably is not often performed or recorded. This is likely due to its relatively short length (about 30 minutes) relative to Bach’s great Masterpieces such as the Easter Passions and Christmas oratorio. But it is also easily lost among the 240 Cantatas Bach created. We might call it a partially hidden gem.
This story of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven begins in a grand fashion with trumpets and drums leading the Alto aria Ach bleibe doch . We then hear more recitative by the Evangelist, leading to another aria, this time by the Soprano. And the work incorporates two beautiful chorals, finishing off with the grand style with which it opened.
We thank Thee, Lord (Cantata BWV 29)
Bach composed this sacred oratoria in Leipzig in 1731 for a festive church service marking the annual inauguration of a new town council. Bach scored the work in eight movements for four vocal parts and a festive Baroque orchestra. The organ dominates the first movement Sinfonia which Bach derived from a Partita for violin. The full orchestra accompanies the first choral movement and plays with the voices in the closing chorale, while a sequence of three arias alternating with two recitatives is scored intimately.Bach used the music from the choral movement for both the Gratias agimus tibi and Dona nobis pacem of his Mass in B minor.
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