COVID-19 UPDATE
September 2021
Dear Friends,
Two years ago we were sending out rehearsal schedules to our choristers and subscription information to our audience. This time last year we knew we wouldn’t be conducting a 2020-21 season but were hopeful — if not sure — that come September 2021 we would be “back to normal”.
Well, none of us is sure what “normal” means anymore. What we do know is that uncertainty around the trajectory of Covid-19’s variant(s), combined with the inherent and immediate danger of its spread among singers, means that once again Christmas with the Phil will be cancelled.
However, all is not lost! We continue to monitor the situation and hope to bring our choristers together this fall in limited, socially distant numbers (quartets, octets, sectionals) to rehearse material for the rest of our planned-for season. This includes, of course, the Berlioz Messe solennelle that we will be performing with the WSO next April 24, and for our own concert of Haydn’s Nelson Mass on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
This work has been on our “wish list’ for some time; all of Haydn’s late masses are regarded as masterworks and this one is deemed to be his single greatest composition. It will be paired with Peteris Vasks’ Dona Nobis Pacem and the concert will feature our friends from The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra along with Andrea Lett, soprano, Kirsten Schellenberg, alto, James McLennan, tenor and Justin Welsh, bass. We believe that vaccination rates, pandemic gods and science willing, this will mark a triumphant return for our choristers and, most importantly, our audience.
Though tickets will not be on sale yet, once we are certain that we will be performing this concert we will update our website and let our audience know. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our PhilNotes e-news (we only send it when we have important information to share!) and watch our social media channels for breaking news.
Until then, please ensure your vaccinations are up to date, wear your mask, and be kind to one another.
Yours in harmony,
The Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir
PS While it may go without saying how grateful we are to our sponsors, donors, audience members and choristers, we cannot miss this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks. Your enduring support of the Phil means we can continue planning for the future, including our 100th anniversary – our 2021-22 season – which is one short year away! Please take good care of yourselves while we design a season that promises to be our best yet!
The Phil Fund
The Phil Fund has been established to provide an opportunity for our donors to acknowledge those special individuals in their lives; to thank, to honour or to remember these friends of significance through a gift to the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir.
Come sing with us!
Have you always wanted to experience the thrill of singing major choral works with the WSO and internationally-renowned artists? The Phil is always looking for qualified singers to join us in making beautiful music together. Please read on about our auditions.
100th Anniversary
The 2022/23 season marks the Phil’s 100th Anniversary. We are finalizing our plans, which will include an opportunity for Alumni to sing with the choir under the direction of both Yuri Klaz and Henry Engbrecht. If you are an alumni chorister, or a patron who wants to keep in the loop, please email Phil100th@gmail.com
