Conductors and singers prepare for first live concert in three years

By Casper Wehrhahn Neepawa Banner & Press

The Neepawa Area Community Choir (NACC) will be making its big return this month. NACC will be holding their first concert in three years on May 20 at 7:00 p.m. in Neepawa’s Knox Presbyterian Church. And, to top it off, it’ll be a co-feature with the Choraliers– some of whom are also members of NACC.

The group had been on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, but began holding meetings again in October of last year. For NACC coconductors Blair Chapman and Susan Salmon, this was an occasion that was cause for great excitement.

“I’m a volume fan and the number of people coming out, of all ages and the diversity of male and female voices, it was wonderful,” said Chapman. “There’s a variety of things we can try, vocally, that we’re really excited about. We’ve been working on some choral pieces since then that we’re eager to showcase.”

Salmon added, “There’s also a lot of normalcy coming back. And all of the smiles and excitement that we’ve seen as people walk into our practices and meetings is really fantastic.”

Though it goes without saying, this enthusiasm extends to their return to the stage.

“It’s very exciting to finally have a live audience again,” said Salmon. “We did video performances for Christmas and two festival performances as well– one in Gladstone and one in Neepawa.”

Chapman added, “And singing in the Knox– it’s a whole other experience. It’s one thing to hear ourselves practicing in the classroom that we use, but when we get to sing in the church… Well, our members are taken by surprise! It’s an incredible space to perform in.”

In addition to the upcoming concert, the NACC will officially begin looking for new members in September, giving the group a fresh start.

“We love the people that we have, and we want more,” Chapman enthused. “You don’t have to be an experienced reader of music or an experienced singer to sing in a choir.”

Salmon added, “And just learning off of each other and growing with that support is such a wonderful thing, and we’ve been able to see that with a number of our members. People have also come up to us after performances before and commented on how much fun it looks like we’re hav-

Smith, Kathryn Yanchycki, Gwen McCaskill, Glenda MacPhee, Colleen Taylor, Moira Woods, Donna Huck, Murray Hart, Lawrence Smith, Loren Huck, Pete Henderson, Blair Chapman. Missing: Joanna Crosson, Raydah Jo cadion, Wendy Kaspick, Angie ing– and we are! We work on challenging things, but we’re having a good time while we’re doing it.”

Mother-daughter NACC member duo Gwen McCaskill and Kathryn Yanchycki shared their own appreciation of the choir, commending Chapman and Salmon as fantastic conductors.

“They make it very enjoyable for all age groups,” said Yanchycki.

McCaskill added, “It’s also very exciting to have something to do with family.”

“We’ll definitely be back,” Yanchycki enthused.

The choir is open to anyone from Neepawa and the surrounding area, includ-