Hello Board and Membership,

What an incredible year it has been! I can’t even believe it has been 10 months since I stepped up to the plate and took on this presidential role.  I have learned a significant amount this past year and I really could not have done it without the support of the board and the larger choral membership.  All of your positivity and insight has really provided me with a solid foundation in carrying out the duties needed to make the PGCS the best it can be.  I am so grateful to you all!

Highlights:

When I reflect on this past year there are a few things that that really stand out:

"Come Feast with Us"  was a trip! That concert was wildly successful but also a ton of work and certainly a few lessons were learned along the way.  Most membership won’t know this, but our board and volunteers pulled off that high caliber concert without using the well established PGCS concert planning guide!  I had quite the laugh when I learned we had one after the fact.

"PG Music Festival"  This was a lot of fun, and I’m really glad we chose to memorize one of our pieces. A very lovely Nove Voce singer I get coffee from every Wednesday was quite impressed at our performance. She may cross the floor!  Next year I would be quite supportive of PGCS entering the festival in the competition division.

“Birds n’ the Beers” Pub Night- I remember singing in another choir before Covid hit and one chorister had mentioned that he would be returning to the PGCS the following season. When I asked, what for? He responded, “they have pub nights”.  I carried this memory into my new position and I’m glad I did because I think our night at the Alpine was a ton of fun. PGCS is not just about performances & outreach. We need to also have fun outside the rehearsal space, and I would like to see this activity become more popular with the membership. The goal moving forward is to plan at least 1 social night per semester.

 “Fly”- This concert was truly magnificent.  This music was wonderful and challenging, the creativity in decorations was beautiful and I absolutely loved the “frou frou” we wore on stage.  I was so sad when I had to exit stage during “Sparrow’s Jig” to cough my lungs out in the back room, but the show must go on, and despite my coughing fit I did get to hear how we sounded to the audience. It was awesome!

Outreach- Of all the outreaches we did this year, my most favorite was at Christmas in the Simon Fraser Lodge.  There was one woman in particular who I could tell had no idea where she was, but she was having a blast and it made me so happy to provide that experience for her.

Areas of Improvement:

I have several ideas going into next year that I would like to improve upon:

Community Presence: As we build our board and choral membership, I feel like we can strengthen our presence in the community more.  I am looking into a Christmas pop-up at the Pine Center Mall as one idea, and I’m also open to other suggestions from the membership.  Social media and updating our website will be beneficial and we will be working on this over the summer.

Outreach: I would like to see our outreach events spread out a little bit more as opposed to right after our concert when members are burnt out.  I think if we book them earlier (when we’re feeling confident in our music score) then we can look at outreach as an opportunity for performance practice leading up to the big event!

Volunteering & Board membership: Volunteers are at the heart of this organization and there are many ways to get involved.  I’d like to see more organization or communication in this area so members know who to talk to and what role they can play. Additionally, our board needs a few more members. It is my hope there are a few choristers willing to step forward for this upcoming year.

Next Season:

Saddle-up and get excited because we have an awesome year ahead! A few things to look forward to are the following:

• September 30^th, 2023  Vocal Workshop/Retreat with Willi Zwozdesky
•  December 8^th & 9^th, 2023  Carols by Candlelight to be held in the UNBC Atrium
• Jan 13th or 20th, 2024   Winter Retreat
• April 6th, 2024: Sunshine and Roses concert with Amy Blanding at Knox Performance Centre
• May 5th, 2024: Requiem with the PGSO at Vanier Hall

If we also add additional outreach events, PG Festival and a couple pub nights then that is one heck of a season!

Closing Comment:

Once again, I’d like to sincerely thank all of you who have helped me this year. I am so happy with the way our season rolled out and I am really excited for what next season will bring.  I hope you all enjoy your summer holidays and I look forward to seeing you again in September.

Sincerely,