Since its 2016 inception, Konektis has been a hit, performing throughout Manitoba. Konektis choir has made several professional quality videos and last October, they hit a high point, when Konektis sang in Brandon’s Westman Centennial Auditorium in collaboration with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. This spring however, Konektis will make an exponential leap forward to take part in a performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
This large Brandon choir, regularly conducted by Virden’s Michelle Chyzyk, is making its debut of a lifetime in the Big Apple. There they will join five other Canadian choirs to become a mass choir bringing Canadian repertoire. Their performance in NYC will take place on April 1.
However, before Konektis performs in Carnegie Hall, you can enjoy the choir right here in Virden’s Auditorium Theatre where the resonance of some 50 voices will entertain on March 2.
Chyzyk is not only excited about the Carnegie Hall concert, but also to bring some of that music to her hometown first. “Our opening six numbers will be our Carnegie Hall set of six. It's a beautiful set of music chosen for this event.”
Anyone who has been to a Konektis concert will know the dynamic excitement their performances generate. What moves the singers, moves the audience.
“Right now, we're working on a huge African number, which is very exciting, called Rainmaker,” Chyzyk says, adding the audience can expect many layers of harmony in this piece. The concert will feature a variety of music and feature numbers by the sopranos and altos, tenors, and basses.
Konektis is rich with talent, including graduates of Brandon University (BU) School of Music as well as BU students, community musicians, and many local music educators. Many singers from the Virden area have been making music with Chyzyk since kindergarten.
Konektis has attracted talent from the beginning and Chyzyk thrives on seeing others grow and share in the group’s achievements.
“So, we're building into the program… we have so many capable people to provide variety and keep our group growing. I share conducting duties with Marla Fontaine, of Brandon and our assistant conductor is Clinton McLachlan.”
Fontaine has been with Konektis from its inception and is second soprano when she’s not conducting. She holds a Bachelor of Music Specialist degree and a B. Ed. from BU.
McLachlan obtained a Bachelor of Voice Performance from BU in 2016. The tenor has portrayed roles in Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Puccini’s Gianni Schicci. An alumnus of the Westman Youth Choir and the 2016 National Youth Choir of Canada, he joined Konektis in 2019. He has arranged a piece of music by pop artist, Aurora, called Runaway.
“It’s quite a great arrangement. It’s very current in choral music for people to create their own arrangements,” says Chyzyk.
Virden is hometown to Justine Burke, accompanist for Konektis. With her B. Mus/B. Ed degrees from BU, she is currently in her ninth year of running the grade 5-12 music program at Carberry Collegiate.
At the Konektis concert in Virden, you will see nearly a number of local performers including: Dane Leslie, Darrell Corbel, Dean Munchinsky, Todd Plaisier, Katie Hepp, Jayenna Draper, Daelyn Fefchak, Evan Terin, Dylan Southam and Rachelle Lesy (now of Brandon).
The Manitoba Thursday evening tour continues on March 9, at the Minnedosa Conference Centre, and on March 23 in the Carberry Community Hall, before the performers gear up for their Carnegie Hall debut.
In Virden’s Aud Theatre, on March 2, tickets for the evening performance are available at the door.
