Westwinds Music Society prepares for European trip

Seventy members of the Westwinds Music Society are getting ready for a European tour that will see them on stage at locations in Germany and Austria.

A group of Calgary musicians and singers are getting ready to perform across the ocean, in part of the world that birthed some of the greatest classical music ever composed.

Close to 70 performers made up of choir and band members from Westwinds Music Society are getting ready to head to Germany and Austria for a number of performances.

The two-week tour kicks off in Bottendorf, Germany where they’ll be hosted by Thomas Mandel and the Bottendorf Possaunencour (Trombone Choir).

“One of the cool things about this trip is we’re reconnecting with the group that we originally met in 2002 when they came to Canada,” said Westwinds Music Society director Kevin Willms.

“We’re going to perform in Bottenorf at the church they’re based in, then we’re going to perform in Eisenach which is the birth place of Johann Sebastian Bach, we’re going to perform in the church where he was baptized.”

The trip also includes stops in Munich, Salzburg, and closes in Vienna.

Willms says society members come from all walks of life who possess a number of skills vocally or on an instrument.

“There are doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, you name it -- as long as they’re an adult and have a passion to make music and learn, they’re welcome in our organization,” he said. “It’s not only to keep active, but to keep the brain moving and your passion alive.

“(It’s also) a place to go for kids who are coming out of high school and want to keep playing and singing and performing.”

Sean Emery is a clarinet player who also sings in the choir. The 27-year-old has been a member for 10 years and joined up after graduating high school.

“(Kevin) Willms--who is leading this trip--was my high school band director,” Emery said. “So, at the last year of high school we finished our last concert and I was really sad, I didn’t know what to do and Kevin was like well, let me tell you about Westwinds.”

Emery is an electrician by day and says being part of the society is a hobby for him where he gets to spend time with his friend. This will be his first trip with the group -- which has done a lot of traveling since it launched in 1988, with trips to the Czech Republic, Spain, Cuba, China and New Orleans -- and he’s excited about the organization’s upcoming journey to the land of Bach, Mozart and all the rest of those classical music legends.

“It’s one of those things I haven’t thought about enough to get nervous about, but I’m excited,” he said. “It’s going to be a good time and we’re just going to see what happens.

“I respect professional musicians greatly,” he added. “I don’t practice that much, that’s not what I do, I do this for fun.”

Choir director Anne Gray said the group has selected Canadian music to perform for the European audiences.

“We’re taking a big map of Canada and we have a few costumes such as scarves from our ‘Four Strong Winds’ from Alberta,” she said. “We started rehearsing in January and we go all the way through until we leave and put something together that’s fun but meaningful -- and something we can feel really good about.”

The group arrives in Germany on July 13th but before they go, they’re hosting a free tour kick off concert Saturday July 5th at 2 p.m. at Calgary Opera, 1315 7th street, SW.

Learn more about Westwinds here.