We had our final rehearsal Tuesday evening and are raring to go. We haven't mastered Chilcott's "Seeds of Stars" yet, but Diane assures us we will have plenty of time to get the piece up to speed during the "massed adult choir" rehearsals.
Forty-two singers, several partners and our beloved professionals--Diane Loomer, Kevin Zakresky and Ailsa Zaenker--are now madly packing for who knows what kind of weather in St. John's. Luckily, the weather there is looking up! Sunny with cloudy periods is the outlook for Monday, July 4th, two days before the festival begins, and the trend is upwards.
Exciting news! Rajaton, the headline act for Festival 500, has invited us (and 450 other singers) to join them by singing the refrains for Mama Mia and Chiquitita, two ABBA numbers they will perform at the final gala concert.
Some background on Rajaton: they are a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop. Rajaton performs primarily in Finland but also tours around Europe and the rest of the world. Rajaton's fan following has grown substantially since 2002. In 2005, Rajaton album sales reached 100,000 worldwide. They have earned eight gold records in total, with Rajaton Sings ABBA reaching platinum (30,000) and Joulu reaching double platinum (60,000).
EnChor is looking forward to its first trip to Newfoundland and Labrador as invited guests to Festival 500, Sharing the Voices. The festival runs from July 6th to 13th. Stay tuned to share our experiences.
