The Olds Community Chorus is getting back into its fall season.
They're holding a meet-and-greet this Friday, Sept. 6, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Hope Pointe Community Church for those interested in joining the choral group.
After that, they meet Monday nights for practices, beginning Monday, Sept. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m., also at Hope Pointe Community Church.
They'll be holding their annual general meeting Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. right after that evening's practice.
"We'll be looking for people for the board. If anybody's interested, put a bug in their ear and have them come to the meeting, or better yet, come to the choir," director Theresa Wasden says. "We're always looking for more choir members."
Wasden says the choir currently consists of more than 40 members.
"We would love another 10 or 20," she says. "We will make room for singers who will make room for us."
Wasden says this fall's program is exciting, as choir members prepare for their Christmas concert, scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Olds. The theme is On A Cold Winter's Night.
"We're doing a whole bunch of music. A lot of it is the classical side, touching on Messiah, and then the second half is all Christmas movie themes, like everything from Frozen to White Christmas (from) Holiday Inn, so hopefully something for everybody; that's what we're trying to do," she says.
She notes they're still looking for program sponsors.
The Olds Community Chorus held several free summer workshops this year, during which attendees got a chance to learn some of Handel's Messiah.
"We had people from Sundre, and out by Leduc, Red Deer, Airdrie; it was wonderful," Wasden says.
"Just people who wanted to get a feel for Messiah or haven't done it for years, so that was really the purpose of it and it was pretty positive."
She says more workshops will be held the following summer, with the goal of having the choir learn the full Messiah in time for Easter 2021.
Wasden says the full Messiah is pretty lengthy.
"It's a couple of hours," she says. "We'll probably do an hour-and-a-half presentation of it. It just depends on which selections that you choose."
