The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor It's not every day that the Winnipeg Free Press review gives a concert five stars. Then again, it's not every day that the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is joined by the Flin Flon Community Choir. This past weekend, the choir was in the Manitoba capital to share the stage with the Orchestra, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir and guest artists. 'Bravo! It was pretty awesome,' said Tom Goodman, an area resident who attended the concert. Last Friday and Saturday, packed crowds at the Centennial Concert Hall enjoyed the ensemble production of Mahler: Symphony No. 2. Lent talents Nearly 50 Community Choir members lent their talents to the five-movement symphonic performance. Among them was Crystal Kolt, who had approached the head of the Orchestra about a musical partnership. 'He took a chance and we took a chance, and this piece was their big finale of the (season),' she said. Kolt called the opportunity to sing at the concert 'a great honour.' 'This is one of the top symphonies in Canada, and to join in with the Philharmonic Choir as well, it was really exciting,' she said. See 'Thir..' on pg. 7 Continued from pg. 1 This was the third time the Community Choir has performed with the Orchestra, but the first time they had done so in Winnipeg. Audience members and critics alike certainly took notice, resulting in the Free Press' rare five-out-of-five review. Reviewer Holly Harris wrote that Mahler: Symphony No. 2 'wrings out every ounce of emotion as it journeys through the despair of death to ultimate hope for eternal life.' Rare feat Goodman, who took in Friday's show, said he does not recall ever seeing a five-star rating in the newspaper. But more than a stellar performance, the concert was, as Community Choir member Lawrence Gillespie put it, 'a good flag-waving day for Flin Flon.' A large contingent of past and present Flin Flonners _ at least 200, by Kolt's estimate _ took in the concerts, eagerly applauding their hometown musicians. With this being the Orchestra's last concert before summer, Kolt compared the opportunity to the Flin Flon Bombers joining the Winnipeg Jets for the last game of the hockey season. 'That's what it felt like to us,' she said. Before being invited to the concert, Kolt was not overly familiar the Mahler piece, but she and the other local choristers worked to become well acquainted with the music. 'Everybody should be proud of them,' she said. 'They really blended in so well with the professional chorus.' Kolt called the famed Centennial Concert Hall 'just an amazing facility' with the most up-to-date acoustic equipment available. The Community Choir wasn't the only local choir earning rave reviews in Winnipeg recently. This past Monday, the children of The Coppertones sang on the Grand Staircase of the Manitoba Legislature. It was part of a concert series at the Legislative building presented by Manitoba Education in partnership with the Manitoba Music Educators Association. 'After hearing both the Flin Flon Community Choir and The Coppertones, I am reminded how music allows us to connect with each other over large distances, and that its language is universal,' Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen told the legislature on Tuesday.
