Via Choralis

Enriching lives and cultivating community through choral music

Via Choralis Chamber Choir is in its 17th year, and the 2017–18 season is the 12th under Artistic Director Nicholas Fairbank. The ensemble, whose name means “the choral way” in Latin, sings mainly classical repertoire. Once a year, the choir performs a major choral work with full orchestra. In recent years, they have sung Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, and Mozart’s Requiem. Via Choralis has premiered many works over the years, including commissioned works by Artistic Director Nicholas Fairbank. In 2011, they produced Fairbank’s

Sea Cantata, and in 2013 a collaboration with four other Victoria choirs lead to the first two performances of the highly acclaimed Isbjørn! More recently, Via Choralis premiered Fairbank’s Canció amazónica, a 20minute work inspired by the composer’s visit to the Peruvian Amazon in the summer of 2015.

This season, the 30-voice choir, with pianist Sandra Fletcher, sing two different programs, the first on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 26. The

Servetus Vestpers is a collaborative concert with the choir of First Unitarian Church of Victoria, featuring the newly commissioned

Vesperae pro Serveto by Nicholas Fairbank, based on texts by Frances Dearman. Details, including ticket information, can be found at www.viachorlis.ca. The second programme, Love

Songs and Madrigals, will be performed in Sidney on April 22, 2018, will feature Brahms’ Liebeslieder

Waltzes as well as part songs from the Renaissance to the 21st century.

If you are interested in singing with Via Choralis, contact the artistic director at: viachoralis@shaw.ca for an audition. Rehearsals take place in Saanichton on Monday evenings from September to April.