Wild Mountain Thyme choir performs Oct. 13, 15 in area

Just the human voice, at once the simplest yet perhaps most amazing instrument of all, that was the focus of Wild Mountain Thyme's work chosen for the Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in Powell River, British Columbia last July. Wild Mountain Thyme, a chamber choir with 18 singers, returns home to Bonners Ferry to share this exploration with unaccompanied vocal works ranging from classic pop to Bach. Wild Mountain Thyme was one of 30 international choirs chosen from more than 60 applicants for the festival. Their international festival concert, "SIMPLY VOICES: singing it a cappella from Bach to rock," will be performed in Troy, Mont. at Northwest Music at 7:30 p.m. (Montana time) on Friday Oct. 13 with optional dinner before the concert. Cover charge is $5.

In Bonners Ferry, the performance will be at 4 p.m. on Sun. Oct. 15 at Trinity Lutheran Church with desserts and celebration after the concert. Donations will be gathered.

Wild Mountain Thyme, directed by Vicki Blake, is an auditioned community choir.

They have performed thoughout the Northwest and as an invited choir at international festivals in Austria, Hungary, Newfoundland, and British Columbia. They have joined choirs from Australia, China, Japan, Africa, South America and Europe in shared concerts, competitions, and a massed choir performances. Summer of 2007, Blake will be taking an auditioned choir gathered from singers from the Inland Northwest to perform in Ireland for the Galway Arts Festival, the Killarney Arts Festival, and in exchange concerts in Cork and Connemara. Persons interest in the Ireland tour or in auditioning for Wild Mountain Thyme can contact her at 208-267-3294 or after the concerts.

The music for this concert is drawn from widely varied styles including everything from a Renaissance madrigal and Bach chorale to pop music from the sixties and Broadway tunes. Wild Mountain Thyme will perform folk music from Latin America, Africa, Hungary, and France as well as contemporary literature from composers like Eric Whitacre and Rosephanye Powell. There is a balance of sacred and secular music. The concert is intended to be a smorgasbord of a cappella singing through the ages and around the world. Each piece is uniquely staged and the whole strung together with poetry and quotes about singing and the human voice.

All proceeds from the concerts will be used to help the choir meet expenses for their 2007 10th Anniversary Concert Series.