Surrey Civic Theatre's three-show Holiday Series concludes with a Solicitude concert on Friday, Dec. 13, a night when singers aim to "evoke the peaceful beauty of snow light on a dark winter's day."
Vancouver-based vocal ensemble musica intima will perform "Music to Shine in Darkest Winter" at Surrey City Hall's intimate Centre Stage theatre starting at 8 p.m.
"Let the warm, bright light of choral music carry you through the holiday season and into the New Year," says a post on tickets.surrey.ca, where tickets are sold for $35, or $42 for seats closer to the stage.
Solicitude (a concert title defined as "care or concern for someone or something") will feature the voices of musica intima alongside Lil'wat Nation composer/singer Russell Wallace. The performance will explore "what winter means to Russell through his Indigenous musical traditions and perspectives." Rounding out the holiday collaboration will be "music that reflects the season from musica intima’s own and different cultural traditions."
Pre-concert, ticketholders can enjoy free hot chocolate and hear the sounds of Celtic harpist Leanne Page in the lobby. Outside are photo-ops with the 60-foot tree at Surrey Civic Plaza, where the 2024 Surrey Tree Lighting Festival was held Nov. 23-24.
Founded in 1992, musica intima brings its Solicitude concerts to venues in Surrey, Vancouver and Sechelt on different dates in December.
On musicaintima.org, the ensemble's biography says the singers aim to "connect, inspire, and profoundly move people through intimate and collaborative vocal experiences."
The ensemble is seen and heard in a video posted to Facebook.
Wallace, an award-winning composer, producer and singer, learned about traditional singing from his mom, Flora Wallace, from Xaxlip/Lil’wat. His music can be heard on soundtracks for film, television and theatre/dance productions across Canada and the U.S.
Says Wallace about the Solicitude concerts: "When you ask someone in the Northern St̓át̓imcets language their age, you don’t ask, 'How old are you?' You say, 'Kwinaszánucw máqa7' — 'How many snows are you?' because winters are harsh, and lives are measured by how many winters one survives.”
Other concerts in Surrey's 2024 Holiday Series are Jill Barber (held Nov. 15) and Let it Snow with Vancouver Welsh Men's Choir (on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Surrey Arts Centre's Main Stage).
