VANCOUVER CANTATA SINGERS CELEBRATES 60 YEARS WITH KANTATEFEIER! A CANTATA CELEBRATION

On Saturday, May 12th, the Vancouver Cantata Singers conclude their highly successful 60th season by presenting Kantatefeier: A Cantata Celebration at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver. The concert features cantatas and motets by J.S. Bach, plus a new choral composition by Jocelyn Morlock, winner of the 2018 Juno award for Best Classical Composition. 

In this evening concert, Vancouver Cantata Singers will perform a number of their favourite Bach cantatas conducted by artistic director, Paula Kremer, including: Wachet Auf (BWV 140) and Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 61) and motets, Komm, Jesu, Komm (BWV 229), Lobet den Herrn (BWV 230), and O Jesu Christ (BWV 118) concluding with a world premiere of an unaccompanied choral composition by local composer, Jocelyn Morlock. The Vancouver Cantata Singers will be joined by a 12-member Baroque ensemble, made up of the west coast’s best Baroque instrumentalists led by violinist, Paul Luchkow. 

After forming in 1958 under Hugh McLean and with little financial support, the Vancouver Cantata Singers performed Bach’s B Minor Mass in February 1959 at Christ Church Cathedral. Almost ten years later, our second conductor, John Wiebe started his position with the choir leading Bach’s St. John Passion. Our third conductor, James Fankhasuer, who led the choir for 26 seasons, brought the choir much fame for singing rapid Baroque runs with grace and clarity, winning the international “Let the Peoples Sing” competition, and presenting a concert tour in Germany which presented music by the Bach family in churches in which the various Bachs had worked as choirmasters. Kantatefeier: A Cantata Celebration honours our lengthy history and love of Bach’s music. 

Tickets prices are adults $30, students $20, and youth $10. Tickets are available online at https://kantatefeier.eventbrite.com 

PERFORMANCE DETAILS 

Kantatefeier: A Cantata Celebration 

Saturday, May 12, 7:30pm, Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard Street 

ABOUT VANCOUVER CANTATA SINGERS 

Vancouver Cantata Singers celebrates its 60 anniversary this season and has become one of Canada’s preeminent, award-winning choral ensembles. Vancouver Cantata Singers is known for technical virtuosity, fine blend and exceptionally high performance standards encompassing 500 years of choral repertoire. The Cantata Singers have been awarded the Canada Council’s top prize in choral singing, the Healey Willan Grand Prize, more than any other choir in the country. VCS also commissions new works from critically acclaimed composers which have led to extremely successful and innovative collaborations with regional and international artists and ensembles. 

ABOUT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PAULA KREMER 

Paula Kremer, a native of Vancouver, studied music at Vancouver Community College and the University of British Columbia. Since 1997, she has been on faculty at VCC, where she teaches choir, voice and aural skills. She conducted the Vancouver Bach Choir’s Sarabande ensemble and the Vancouver Bach Youth Choir from 2009 to 2017. A seasoned soloist and ensemble singer, Ms. Kremer has sung in this capacity locally and abroad with high-level ensembles, including her 19 years in VCS under James Fankhauser (conducted 1973-2000) and Eric Hannan (2002-2012). Kremer was the VCS’ Guest Conductor for four concerts, which included the acclaimed performance of Brahms’ German Requiem in 2011. She became the Artistic Director of VCS in the summer of 2013.