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Over the years the choir has built up an extensive
repertoire which continues to grow each season. The ESMC
performs a wide variety of choral music, almost exclusively without
accompaniment. Selections range from the classic harmonies of
Bortniansky's "Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe" to the modern sound
of "Chuehreiheli," composed in 1995 for the choir by Hans Kennel to
imitate the natural harmonics of the alphorn. As one might
expect from a Swiss choir there is a number of yodels as well,
although these are not a major part of the repertoire. The
choir sings in all four official Swiss languages (German, French,
Italian and Romansch), with some selections in English and – around
Christmastime – the occasional foray into Latin or Ukrainian.
A disciplined approach to the music has had its rewards.
These have included first prizes in competition in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) in
1985, Calgary (Alberta) in 1988, in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) in 1997, in
New Glarus (Wisconsin) in 2003 .
Our home city recognized these achievement with
Edmonton's Salute to Excellence Award.
In 1991 ESMC toured Switzerland, staging eleven concerts in
two weeks. Four years later the choir returned to Switzerland for its
second tour. In June 1995, in Goldau, the choir competed against 56
other ensembles and came away with first place laurels. A third tour
to Switzerland took place in 2001.
In the spring of 1998 the choir placed second in
the biennial
CBC Choral Competition, and that fall we were honoured to be
asked to sing at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Swiss
Society of Vancouver.
The rewards have taken different forms as well. In
addition to commissioning new music, the choir has been privileged to
receive offers from composers to premiere new pieces.
In 1991 ESMC recorded its first CD,
My Heimet. By 1996-97 we felt it was time
to take to the studio again. The "studio" was Knox Metropolitan United
Church, where we laid down 19 tracks for
Kamerade. Early in
2005, the recordings for our third CD
were completed. This CD became available in the summer of 2005.
In the summer of 2005, the ESMC, at the occasion of
its 25th anniversary, toured
Switzerland with a side trip to France. Concerts were
given in many cities and towns.
In the spring of 2006, we
toured South
America, and gave performances to the Swiss Communities in Chile,
Uruguay and Argentina. This was followed, in June 2006, by a
trip to Toledo, Ohio, to participate in the
NASSA Swiss Singing Festival.
In 2007, we stayed in Alberta, where we gave a
number of concerts. We also took this opportunity to record a
CD with Christmas music (our 4th CD). It became
available in August 2008, well in time for Christmas.
In 2008, we participated at the
Sängerfest
in Portland, Oregon (July 2008) and toured Central Canada.
In 2009, we participated at the
Sängerfest in Banff (June 2009).
In 2010, we have already hosted our Spring Concert
and our
Concert Tour through Switzerland.
We are looking forward to our
Winzerfest in
November.
In 2011, we will be participating at the USSSPC in
Vancouver, BC (Pacific Swiss Singing Societies).
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