Unique and Bittersweet

Another season of chorus has come and gone.  Starting the middle of September, practices are held every Tuesday night.  Then, on the first week-end in December, two concerts are performed, one in Estevan, Saskatchewan and one in Crosby, North Dakota.  The set-up is a unique one with a little over half of the choir members coming from north of the Canadian border in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, and the rest from various small communities in northwest North Dakota.

Adding up the numbers, I found there were 29 Canadians and 24 Americans in the choir.  The interesting thing, however, was breaking it down by sections.  In the soprano section, the Canadians dominated 13 to 6.  The altos were closer to even with a 10 to 6 mix.  Moving to the men, it was the Americans who had the majority, with tenors and basses each having 6 Americans and 3 Canadians.

From this analysis, I found the representatives from each side would have a hard time making up a full choir on their own, with the Canadians lacking in men, and the Americans lacking in women.  Perhaps this speaks to what makes the chorus so special.  "Hands across the border" united in their common love of music.  Friendships formed over the years become special, even though for 9 months out of the year we rarely see one another.

Each year, when the concerts are over, there is a bittersweet feeling in the air.  Perhaps much of it is looking back over 47 years and realizing the many faces which are no longer there.  The chorus originated in Crosby as the brainchild of a Lutheran pastor having a desire to hear Handal's "Messiah" performed.  He recruited the talents of a local dentist to lead the singing, and the high school music instructor to direct the orchestra. They, in turn, reached out to around 100 area singers and musicians, and orchestration was supplemented by a group of stringed instrumentalists from Williston, ND.  It was a huge undertaking for a small community, but impressively, they made it happen.

After a few years of performing the "Messiah", the chorus branched into other types of music, and the Canadians came on board.  The original director led the group for 25 years, followed by a second director who put in 20 years.  This year, and last, the directing duties have also been a joint effort across the border, with one being a farmer from south of Crosby, ND, and the other being a music instructor from Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Between the two concerts, we perform for somewhere between 400 and 500 people.  That is a lot of people receiving the blessing of hearing the message of Christmas over and over again throughout the lyrics of the music.  Because of my love of music, and my love of Jesus, I always wish more could hear it.  Yet, in the days leading up to the concerts, I prayed God would draw those in need of hearing our message, and I must trust He did.

Since holiday schedules fill up fast, think ahead to next year. Mark the first week-end in December, reserving it to take part in this welcome beginning to the Advent season.  Better yet, come September, think about joining us as we practice for another round of sharing the "reason for the season" in song.  We'd love to have you!