The lead-up to the spring concert is always enjoyable, since these performances receive a large serving of creativity from our director, Paula Roberts. You can never be sure when the gods may appear and inspire (but they definitely visit a lot in the post-midnight time frame). As a result, we come to rehearsals with expectation (and some trepidation!) that there will be something new to learn or a new twist that will enhance these important end of the year concerts.

Each year has a theme and this year's theme is "Happy". We will be singing a choral version of the very popular and now familiar Pharrell Williams' hit that was part of the music score of "Despicable Me 2" and was nominated for a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Song. Other tunes follow the theme with the very catchy "Groovin'" by the Young Rascals, a song which seems to capture the spirit of the late sixties, "I Sing Because I'm Happy" a powerful and peppy gospel song, and a haunting and beautiful choral rendition of Ian Tamblyn's "Woodsmoke and Oranges. Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie", Michael Bublé's "Haven't Met You Yet", and a rollicking Celtic piece called "The Rocky Road to Dublin" will also be part of the show. And there are others; we "just haven't" practised them yet!

One of the fun (to some) or frightening (to others) aspects of our spring performances is the choreography which Paula teaches us. The parameters make it tricky, because she has to coax reluctant feet and challenge dancing feet and think up moves that everybody can do and that nobody will find too hard. A certain amount of extra instruction can be given by those who master the steps easily to those who want to do it but find it difficult. Paula often provides a demo video which we can download. There are all sorts of learning levels represented in the group but the learning is usually accompanied by lots of laughter and we generally end up very pleased with ourselves once we reach performance time.

Each year there are some small group numbers included in the program. These are ensembles which are composed of ad hoc groups of choir members and we are encouraged to select additional tunes which reflect the theme. So, although thought-provoking and slower tempo numbers can be fascinating to hear, this spring we will focus on making you feel happy at our concert and we hope you'll smile and laugh along with us. The dates are Saturday, May 23rd 8pm, and Sunday, May 24th 2pm. Tickets are on sale at Tix on the Square.