Choraliers to bring Christmas cantata and carol-sing to community Friday
“So many people say that this just starts their Christmas for them,” says Fort Frances choir director Diane Maxey.
Maxey and her choir of 60-plus voices, The Choraliers, will perform a Christmas cantata and other contemporary selections at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Thomas Catholic Church in International Falls. The community is invited.
An audience carol-sing is also part of the program.
“We sing to share the love of music, and to make people smile,” Maxey said, adding that if a piece of music doesn’t make her cry, it doesn’t suit her selections for an inspiring show. The Choraliers have been performing for 21 years.
“We’re looking forward to performing in the Falls again, and in that beautiful church,” she said. Maxey noted that she could take her singers anywhere and they would deliver a beautiful experience, but that a program like this one belongs in the ethereal atmosphere of the church.
The choir will open the concert with five song selections including the Josh Groban favorite, “You Raise Me Up.” Those songs will be followed by an audience carol-sing. The Choraliers will then present a contemporary, four-part cantata, “Emmanuel: Celebrating Heaven’s Child.” The finale will be the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “The Messiah.”
Refreshments will follow the one-hour and 15-minute performance. There is no admission, but free-will offerings will be accepted.
Pianist and choir-member Joe Belanger of International Falls accompanies the choral group for some selections. Currently, International Falls singers Belanger, Joel Hase and Sharon Bilben are part of the Fort Frances group.
The rehearsal season for the Christmas program begins at the end of October when Maxey distributes CDs of the cantata to her singers before commencing a five-week practice schedule.
The Choraliers has continued to grow and grow, said Maxey, and she invites more American singers to join. One of her dreams is that full choirs from both International Falls and Fort Frances would unite to perform en masse at events such as these.
An Easter cantata is also performed every year by the Choraliers.
Maxey began piano lessons at age 8. Her love of music continued through school and she was asked to lead the musical portion of her graduation ceremony in grade 13. “That’s where it (her choir directing) all started,” she said. Maxey, known for her musical energy, is also a school teacher and her Fort Frances tenure included all of the elementary grades.
She has been involved in many facets of community music over the years. “I love it, I just love it,” she said.
“And people shouldn’t miss this concert; it’s really beautiful — beautiful voices.”
If you go:
WHAT: Christmas Concert by The Choraliers, a choir of more than 60 voices
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday • St. Thomas Catholic Church in International Falls
No admission • Free-will offerings accepted • Refreshments following
