News Release Archive
CONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/TOURISM -- CAPE BRETON CHORALE
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The Cape Breton Chorale is the very first group of musical
ambassadors to head overseas, spreading the word about the wealth
of talent and diversity in Nova Scotia's music industry. The
community choir is in Scotland for a series of performances
until July 12 that will showcase Cape Breton and other Nova
Scotian music.
The Musical Ambassadors Program, part of the two-year Celebrate
Our Music initiative, aims to promote Nova Scotia as a visitor
destination by assisting musical groups which have significant
Opportunities to perform outside the province. Celebrate Our
Music is designed to build interest in Nova Scotia as a cultural
tourism destination and to build upon Nova Scotia's music
industry's already booming success.
The 24-year-old Cape Breton Chorale, under the direction of
Sister Rita Clare, will appear in Edinburgh, Dunkeld, Kingussie,
Inverness, Oban and Iona. Provincial marketing officials are
using the choir's tour to promote Nova Scotia in the United
Kingdom, employing a public relations specialist based in
Edinburgh.
The group performs music from the classics, broadway and Nova
Scotia folk tradition. For the Scottish tour, the chorale will
present a mix of religious and secular music. Songs from Nova
Scotia will be in English, French and Gaelic. The programs will
also include excerpts from Mendelssohn, Mozart and Rachmaninoff.
In the past, the choir has commissioned arrangements of songs by
Rita MacNeil, Kenzie MacNeil and Allister MacGillivray and has
sought out choral arrangements of songs from the Helen Creighton
collection. It has performed for the Queen and the Governor
General, has appeared on CBC and ATV, and shared the stage with
Celine Dion, Rita MacNeil, John McNally and Symphony Nova Scotia.
The choir kicked off its tour with an appearance at St. Columba's
Church, Iona, Cape Breton and will finish at the Abbey on the
Isle of Iona, Scotland. The link between Iona, Cape Breton and
Iona, Scotland is particularly significant this year for Scottish
audiences. St. Columba, who founded the Abbey on Iona, Scotland,
late in the sixth century, is credited with converting the tribes
living in what is now Scotland to Christianity. This year marks
the 1400th anniversary of his death.
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Contact: Harold Rennie, Information Officer
902-424-0939
cab July 8, 1997 - 9:45 a.m.
