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KALEID 2010 - A FANTASTIC SUCCESS!
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KALEID 2010 - A FANTASTIC SUCCESS!
We were absolutely thrilled with the overwhelming success of the 2010 Kaleid Music Festival which brought together some of the best choirs in Ontario to celebrate the joy of singing.
Sold out audiences in both London and Woodstock were treated to some fantastic singing, topped off with the incredible performances by RAJATON, who are probably the best a cappella group in the world today.
For more information about RAJATON, click HERE
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The following news article appeared in the
Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 10, 2010.
To read the full article, click HERE
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Sold-out shows draw from across the province
Posted By ELLIOT FERGUSON, SENTINEL-REVIEW
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A packed house listens to the concert at Kaleid Choral Festival at Knox Presbyterian Church in Woodstock Saturday night. (ELLIOT FERGUSON Sentinel-Review)
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Five years after it started, the Kaleid Choral Festival celebrated three sold-out shows on the weekend.
The non-competitive event draws singers and choirs from across Ontario.
"Community choirs often work in isolation," said Anne Macdonald, chairperson of the 2010 festival.
"It's just an exciting, community-building chance to enrich your choral skills but also get a chance to use them together."
This year's Kaleid festival included concerts on Thursday night in London, and Friday and Saturday night shows in Woodstock.
Kaleid started in 2005 with six choirs with about 100 people involved. The following year, a youth music project was added that involved about 150 children.
The festival's youth program brought youth choirs from larger municipalities, such as Toronto, that have access to more available teaching resources. Macdonald said the more experienced choirs become like mentors to younger singers.
"We can sing -- we can sing for each other, we can sing with each other. There's no competition at all in the entire festival," Macdonald said.
This year's three-day festival involved 500 kids each day in London and Woodstock, and 400 adult choir members in Woodstock.
"When we first started, we were having trouble selling tickets. This year we sold out all three nights of our concerts in London and in Woodstock," she said.
The expansion of the festival into London was a good fit because many of the adult choralsters were from London.
The youth program and Thursday concert took place at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London.
This year's Kaleid featured the Finnish a cappella group Rajaton, the same group that performed at the first and second editions of Kaleid.
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For more details of our complete 2010-2011 Season go to our Upcoming page
From our Archives
KALEID 2005 - A CELEBRATION OF SONG!
Most Woodstock residents will remember the weekend of June 10 & 11, 2005 for its oppressive heat and humidity, however a privileged few of us will cherish it as a time of pure joy and wonder. The Kaleid music festival brought together five superb choirs from southern Ontario and an unbelievably talented and world-recognized acappella singing group, RAJATON, from Finland to share in an outpouring of song which, for a brief moment of time, put Woodstock front and centre in the world of choral music.
The 200 singers who participated in the Kaleid Festival and its workshops were transported far beyond the boundaries of merely superb singing and into an intensely spiritual and profoundly moving community experience of all that is beautiful in the world of music. Our spirits were raised to heights which we did not think possible.
Two of the most significant reasons for the success of this festival were the inspiring leadership of Jennifer Moir, the musical director for the weekend and the dazzling singing group RAJATON.
Jennifer Moir has the ability to elevate the art of singing to new heights as she focuses her exuberant personality into a poetic expression of her utter love of the human voice. Her soft style of leadership brought out the best in all of the choristers by convincing each of us that we had a gift to contribute, and that whatever voice we had been given by birth or by training was equally important to our collective sound. Through her gentle guidance she encouraged an atmosphere of togetherness and community which filled everyone with a sense of deep personal connection with all the folks who were sharing their voices together. We felt surrounded by a warmth of spirit and a oneness with all of the other participants.
RAJATON was the other ingredient which contributed to the joy of the weekend. Most of us have never before heard the human voice so beautifully presented. For many of us, it was the most profound musical experience of our lives and touched our spirits deeply. Our hearts sang as we experienced the beauty of their music, their passion for singing, and their reverence for the magnificence of the human voice. They truly made 200 new friends as they shared their infectious enthusiasm, their love for music, and their charming personalities in the associated workshop.
They are accompanied by no instruments, but they do more than merely sing. They employ their voices to provide a sometimes rhythmic and sometimes ethereal and haunting atmosphere to support their beautifully harmonic and complex singing. Many of us had no idea of the scope, the range, the beauty and the potential of the human voice until RAJATON shared with us their voices and their love of singing. We were absolutely astonished by the way in which their superb blend of sound was able to reach deeply into our very souls. We departed the festival with a heightened sense of elation and euphoria, but were also infused with a certain peace and serenity and a feeling that somehow, for a fleeting moment in time, we had joined together in community, bonded by our music and our friendship.
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ABOUT RAJATON
 Rajaton translates as "boundless", and that's exactly the right word to describe the way Rajaton approaches music.
The six-piece a cappella group has performed at jazz festivals, churches, and concert halls singing everything from spiritual music to pop hits.
Founded in Helsinki in 1997, Rajaton consists of (left to right) Hannu Lepola (tenor), Ahti Paunu (baritone), Soila Sariola (alto), Jussi Chydenius (bass), Virpi Moskari (soprano), and Essi Wuorela (soprano). All members have vastly different musical backgrounds, ranging from classical music to folk, pop, and rock. When combined, all these influences create something unique: The Rajaton sound.
In its native Finland, Rajaton is a bona fide pop phenomenon after rising to number 2 on the album charts and going gold with its 2003 release Joulu, a Christmas collection featuring both original compositions and highly original versions of seasonal standards.
Rajaton's Web Page: http://www.rajaton.net/main.site?set_language=eng
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