The Vancouver Orpheus Male Choir is performing with Smithers Local Vocals at the Smithers Christian Reformed Church on Tuesday, May 29 at 7 p.m.

The acclaimed 45-member choir formed in 1992 for 鈥渕en of all ages who love to sing,鈥� melds the dynamic and tonal possibilities of the blend of male voices, under the expert eye of artistic director Liana Savard, with an eclectic, but highly accessible repertoire that covers everything from sacred and folk songs and Canadiana, to popular contemporary ballads and old-time rock n鈥� roll.

The Orpheus men are all amateur yet deliver a professional engaging performance from memory. Each performance guarantees an emotional ride through familiar, new, rousing, humorous and classic repertoire.

A strong component of the Orpheus repertoire is a collection of Canadian and B.C. composed and arranged songs. This includes the arranged for Orpheus version of 鈥淔isherman鈥檚 Son鈥� and 鈥淔our Strong Winds鈥�, 鈥淔ogarty鈥檚 Cove鈥�, 鈥淩oyal Hudson鈥�, BC Native song 鈥淜lee Wyck鈥� among others. Other genres include 鈥淒anny Boy鈥�, 鈥渙l鈥� Man River鈥�, 鈥淰a Pensiero鈥� 鈥淏attle hymn of the Republic鈥�, 鈥淕oodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight鈥� and the Welsh Hymn 鈥淕wahoddiad鈥� which is sung in Welsh.

Orpheus annually tours BC to enrich smaller communities with choral entertainment. Major tours have included the Maritimes, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the US PNW, all to rave reviews. Our September 2015 highlight was tour of Wales hosted by many of the Welsh Male Choirs we hosted in Vancouver over the years.

This season is the 25th anniversary as a choir. The Orpheus men are celebrating this with a five concert tour of BC鈥檚 North and Northwest Coast this May with stops in Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers, 亚洲天堂 Lake and Prince George.

Concert times are 7 p.m. at each location:

May 26 Terrace Re Choir and Sine Nomine

May 27 Kitimat Sine Nomine

May 29 Smithers Local Vocals

May 30 亚洲天堂 Lake Lakes District Community Choir and Chambermaids

June 1 Prince George Nove Voce

Artistic Director - Liana Savard

Liana has been an active director, educator and performer of music for the past 16 years. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz studies from North Vancouver鈥檚 Capilano College in 2000, Liana went on to obtain her Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 2002. Liana is currently Artistic Director of the Vancouver Orpheus Male Voice Choir and has a thriving vocal studio at the Langley Community Music School.

Accompanist - Barry Yamanouchi

As accompanist for the Vancouver Orpheus Male Voice Choir since 1994, Barry has been an integral part of the choir鈥檚 growth and musical development. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music from UBC and a Masters degree in music from McGill University with a major in sound recording.

Barry primarily works as an accompanist playing for many choirs which include the Coastal Sound Music Academy Chamber Choir, the North Shore Chorus, and the Vivaldi Chamber Choir. He is also a sought after accompanist for soloists and makes recordings in his home studio. In 2014 Barry was awarded the Joyce O. Maguire award from the BCCF for long-term service as an accompanist.

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