Revv52
Revv52 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Calgary Choral Society |
| Origin | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1903–present |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | revv52 |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Genre | Music |
| Subscribers | 2+ K |
| Updated Feb 4, 2021 | |
Revv52 is a vocal group based in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout its history, the group, which began as the Calgary Choral Society, has gathered largely avocational performers who share a passion for music and performance. There has been a diversity of skills and ages, but a shared energy and support for each other as performers, as friends and – both genetically and metaphorically – as family. Currently there are about 50 auditioned singers in the group, most of them not professional musicians. First references to the Calgary Choral Society are from 1903.[1] Revv52 celebrates 1952 as their anniversary, since that is when it was registered as an incorporated organization with a fee for participating.[2]
A History of the Calgary Choral Society
The Early Years (1903 - 1940)
The earliest evidence of Calgary Choral Society was notice of a rehearsal held on March 10, 1903.[1] This was an open rehearsal with no audition process and no fees. Over the next years the group met intermittently until Horace Reynolds took over the group in addition to his role as organist at Wesley United Church.[3] After two conductors (C.B. Glover 7 years[4] & Edward Broome 1 year[5]), Glyndor Jones, a well-known baritone from Wales and also an organist with the United Church, became the new conductor in 1927.[6] He was with the group until he left for a position in Vancouver in 1940. The group performed classical pieces as well as operettas. Membership was still free and open to all Calgarians.
Coronation & Beyond (1952 - 1980)
At a meeting of the downtown Kiwanis club on September 8, 1952, the formation of the Calgary Choral Society was approved. “Consensus of members speaking before the vote was that Calgary is now ready, both in size of population and in the number of people interested, to support a choral society in the city on a paying basis.”[2] Over the summer of 1952, 400 auditions were held from which 66 sopranos, 55 contraltos, 30 tenors and 50 basses were selected, and there was a waiting list of 170. Rehearsals were held at the Mount Royal College Conservatory of Music. The first event was a recording of two carols for the Calgary Power Discovers radio program on December 21, 1952 as well as their Christmas Day broadcast. The Calgary Choral Society’s first public performance was at the Stampede Corral on May 9, 1953 where they performed “Merrie England” with the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and two of “Britain’s brightest singing stars”, Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler, as part of a celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. There were over 6,000 people in attendance.[7]
This oratorio choir continued after that inaugural concert with plans for two concerts per year, one in November and one in April. In 1970 the Calgary Choral Society was formed as a non-profit organization which it remains to this day.
Handel’s Messiah
Through the years, the Calgary Choral Society performed Messiah, with the first known performance in 1913.[8] In a time where such performances were a primary source of entertainment for the season, this was a big draw. Public opinion was strong and the pressure was definitely on for a group of singers to do justice to this music. Depending on the year and the particular group of singers (and reviewers!), feedback was sometimes enthusiastic and occasionally dramatically negative. One letter to the editor in 1927 complained not of the music, but of a desire for more of it -- that a ticket price of $1 was too high and should be reduced to $0.50 and allow for two performances.[9]
In 1970, the Messiah was, for the first time, not a capacity audience at the Jubilee.[10] John Vandenbeld switched the musical offering to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in 1975, and when the Messiah was performed again in 1978 at Knox United Church to a smaller crowd, reviews were not great (“Couldn't get a Handel on the Messiah”).[11] With this in mind, Vandenbeld creatively decided to embrace the amateur label, continue a cherished tradition, and in 1981 the group successfully launched a sing-a-long Messiah, a tradition that continues to this day at Knox United Church, but is no longer sponsored by the Calgary Choral Society.
Settling in (1980 to 1995)
Calgary Choral Society established itself as an on-book group of enthusiastic community singers preparing for and performing two shows per year, Christmas and Spring. With James Munro’s last concert as Artistic Director, the group left classical music behind to try out the music of Broadway and perform with another Calgary group, The Heebee-jeebees. This was a sign of things to come.
A New Approach (1995-2008)
Brian Farrell became Calgary Choral Society’s new Artistic Director in 1995. Over the first decade of his leadership, the group began performing off-book with an expanded repertoire of music. They sang over the years with more performers, including Raghav, David Thiaw, Cuba Libre, Steve Pineo Trio, Tim Tamashiro Quintet, Johnny Summers, Lindsay Ell, Tim Williams, and others.
Revv52 Rebrand (2008 - Present)
In 2008 Calgary Choral Society was rebranded as Revv52. The first show performed as Revv52 was Revvolution, performed at the Jubilee Auditorium and all covers of The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Performances have been held each January and May since. In 2015 they added a gala performance in the fall in various locations in Calgary. In 2017, Revv52 returned to Mount Royal in the new Bella Concert Hall at the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts. Revv52 was part of the 2017 Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, and has performed at Carnegie Hall twice, in 2016 and 2019. Continuing to welcome other performers to join them, Revv52 has performed with Jimmy Rankin, Meaghan Smith, Steve Pineo, Kit Johnson, Doug McKeag, Jonathan Love and others.
In the fall of 2019, John Morgan became the current Artistic Director. The first show under his leadership was Everything New is Old Again in January 2020. In March 2020 after having to curtail rehearsals and performances due to COVID-19, Revv52 experimented with members rehearsing and recording both audio and video in their homes. This resulted in the production of eight virtual videos in five months including a version of O Canada performed in Cree, French and English. In the fall of 2020, the group rehearsed in small groups to prepare songs as allowed by COVID restrictions and released five videos for Christmas, all filmed outdoors in iconic Calgary locations.[12]
Artistic Director selfie with Revv52
Artistic Director History
| Director | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| John Morgan | June 2019 | Present |
| Brian Farrell | June 1995 | May 2019 |
| James Munro | July 1986 | May 1995 |
| John Van den Beld | February 1975 | June 1986 |
| William Thorburn | April 1968 | January 1975 |
| Harold Ramsay | December 1952 | March 1968 |
| Glyndor Jones | November 1927 | August 1940 |
| Dr. Edward Broome | September 1926 | ? 1927 |
| C.B. (Bill) Glover | September 1919 | ? 1926 |
| Horace Reynolds | January 1913 | ? 1919 |
Discography
| Album Name | Release Date | Format | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20th Century Folk Mass | Jan 3, 1964 | LP | London Records |
| Gospel Celebration Live | March 1998 | CD | First Baptist Church performance Dec 6, 1997 |
| Encore Live | January 2003 | CD | Self-produced |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 [Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 4 Mar 1903, Wed · Page 5]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 [Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 9 Sep 1952, Tue · Page 3]
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 4 Jan 1913, Sat · Page 28
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 12 Mar 1921, Sat · Page 12
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 25 Oct 1926, Mon · Page 11
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 1 Nov 1927, Tue · Page 12
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 25 Apr 1953, Sat · Page 2
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 8 Oct 1913, Wed · Page 7
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 13 Jan 1927, Thu · Page 8
- ↑ Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · 15 Dec 1970, Tue · Page 28
- ↑ The Albertan, December 14, 1978
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/c/Revv52/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=2
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