Choir to perform free concert
The Mid-Columbia Master Singers will perform in Othello in December. Photo by Artists Portraits.
By Bob Kirkpatrick
Editor
The Mid-Columbia Master Singers are coming to Othello for one performance Dec. 19. The popular choral music choir, formally known as Consort Columbia, will be appearing with the Bethel Spanish Assembly of God children’s choir at 935 South First Avenue at 7 p.m. to help spread the joy of the holiday season as they perform Christmas melodies in Spanish and English.
“We are really looking forward to it,” Justin Raffa, artist director, said. “This will be our first performance in Othello.”
This is Raffa’s second season as director of the choir, having moved to the Tri-Cities area in August 2008.
“I’m from a little town in New Jersey,” he said. “I obtained my bachelor degree in music education at Westminster Choir College in Princeton.”
Raffa said he moved out west to follow his life love and passion for music.
“I took a job 2,500 miles away in Bisbee, Ariz., and taught choir for three years,” he said. “While I was there (in Arizona), I got my master’s degree in choral conducting.”
Raffa moved to Washington to take the job as the director of the Mid-Columbia Master Singers. In 2008, he conducted his first concert performance entirely in Spanish.
“It was the first time in 22 years the choir had performed in the town of Pasco,” he said. “I had no idea there was such a large Latino community this far north of the border. These are my people … my family … and I wanted to make a strong statement.”
Although this is the Master Singers initial trip to Othello, Raffa has been here before.
“Justin is the choral choir guru,” Mick DeLeon, choir director for the Othello School District, said. “He often visits schools in the Columbia Basin and conducts choir clinics and helps get programs up and running.”
DeLeon said Raffa also judges high school choir competitions.
“I met him last year at a teaching conference and he offered his assistance,” DeLeon said. “He’s been a great help and really loves the talent we have here and the kids really love his new way of teaching … it’s inspirational.”
Raffa said he is looking forward to taking the show he calls Navidad Nuestra on the road to Othello.
“It’s (the concert) a perfect way to connect to the community,” he said. “We’ll be performing a traditional classic choral repertoire of songs in Spanish and English celebrating the Christmas holiday in an up-beat and fun way.”
Raffa said readying for the performance has been an educational experience in nature for most of the singers in the choir.
“The majority of them don’t speak Spanish,” he said. “So they have learned to sing songs in a new language.”
The Master Singers is a 45-member ensemble comprised of experienced singers who perform primarily in eastern Washington and Oregon.
“Most of our concerts are in the Tri-Cities,” said Lisa Hill, chair of publicity and singer with the choir. “But last year, we traveled to Pendleton, Ore., and Walla Walla.”
The group, which has been performing since 1986, offers a variety of genres and periods of music to their audience and is dedicated to expanding an appreciation for choral music to the general public.
The ensemble rehearses every Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Central United Protestant Church in Richland.
The performance on Dec. 19 is free to the public, but a free will offering is suggested to help the Master Singers offset their travel expenses.
The Mid-Columbia Master Singers are sponsored in part by the law firm of Smart, Connell and Verhulp.
For more information, contact Lisa Hill at (509) 943-2244. Visit www. midcolumbiamastersingers.org for the group’s complete concert schedule.
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Posted by Bob Kirkpatrick
on Dec 2 2009. Filed under Community.
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