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Our activities begin each year in September with an attempt
to reclaim voices rusty from the idleness of summer. The first two months
involve intense preparation for the annual Winzerfest, an early November
celebration of food, wine, music and friendship that we share with an
audience of about 500.
We normally do a number of engagements in the depths of
winter, including performances of Christmas repertoire. On several occasions
we were guest performers at the First Day Festival, a formal greeting of the
New Year in the City of Edmonton. The public area of Edmonton City
Hall has astonishingly good acoustics, which we have tested not only with
the choir's singing but also with the music of our alphorn trio.
It has become traditional for the choir to join three other
Edmonton male choruses - the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton, the
Liederkranz German Choir, and the St. David's Welsh Male Voice Choir - for
the annual Men Making Music concert. The Men Making Music concert
takes place in the winter and the massed choirs are performing for a large
and enthusiastic audience. In the late 1990s, this concert was
expanded to include a boys' chorus.
The Edmonton Swiss Men's Choir has strong links with two
North American choral federations – the North American Swiss Singing
Alliance (NASSA), of which ESMC is a full member, and the United Swiss
Singing Societies of the Pacific Coast. Two years out of three involve
our participation in the triennial festival of one federation or the other.
In the summer of 2000, the Edmonton Swiss Men's Choir was
proud to host the Swiss Festival 2000 of the North American Swiss Singing
Alliance (NASSA).
The years where no North American festival takes
place are often the time for a trip to Switzerland. In 2001,
the choir went on the CH Tour 2001 and performed in Switzerland for
the third time. Another trip to Switzerland took place in the
summer of 2005. In the spring of 2006, we toured South
America. This was followed in June 2006 by a trip to Toledo,
Ohio, to participate in the Sängerfest 2006.
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 Pacific Swiss
Yodeling and Singing Alliance, Portland, Oregon -
Swissfest 2008. We traveled to Eastern Canada for a
concert tournée. And, as usual, we be gave several concerts in
Alberta.
In 2009, we participated at the
Sängerfest in Banff (June 2009).
In 2010, we have already completed our Spring Concert and
our
Concert Tour through Switzerland
and 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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