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50 Artscene · THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2009 PHOTOS BY RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER IN THE KEY OF C-HRISTMAS: A special Fern Hill School choir could be found rehearsing last Wednesday afternoon, with smiles on the faces of those like Leah Battista (first column), Morgan Wolfe (top second column), music teacher Natalie Spurrell leading the group (top third column), Jaryd Tong (bottom third column), Josh Dawick and Rebecca Fifield (top fourth column) and Vikram Sharma (bottom fourth column). A Canadian Tenor Christmas for Fern Hill School By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF hile most students at Fern Hill School were focused on eating Christmas cookies and celebrating the last day of classes before the holidays last Wednesday, a small group of students were busy preparing for an afterschool choir rehearsal. It would be the last practice they would have before boarding buses at 6 a.m. the next morning and making their way to CTV Toronto, where the 38-member choir of Grade 4-8 students would perform live with the Canadian Tenors on Canada AM. The group was also scheduled to record a song immediately after the show to be broadcast on Christmas Day on the station, adding to the pressure. Then there were live performances with the Canadian Tenors on Dec. 18 and Dec. 22 at the Markham Theatre and on Dec. 21 at Rose Theatre in Brampton. "They are used to performing live in front of an audience, but it will be interesting seeing them perform on camera and I'm very excited for them," said Natalie Spurrell, long-time music teacher and choir director at Fern Hill School. The Canadian Tenors are a Torontobased group, with singers from across Canada, including Fraser Walters, Victor Micallef, Clifton Murray and Remigio W reason why they had chosen us was for our Pereira. The group has made waves on the professionalism and that we have a really music scene this year, with an 80-city nice tone," said Spurrell. The students provided the choral backNorth American tour, a debut self-titled CD that has gone gold in Canada and a ground for the Canadian Tenors for the new Christmas album called The Perfect song Instrument of Peace on Canada AM last week, and O Holy Night for the preGift. The connection between Fern Hill recorded Christmas Day performance. They accompanied the men on Silent School and the Canadian Tenors goes back Night, O Holy Night and Instrument of two years. The school first performed with the Peace at the concerts. "Last year I didn't handsome male quartet think it was going to go at a United Way "They (the Canadian Tenors) forward this much, so it fundraising concert in said the reason why they had Sept. 2008 at the chosen us was for our has been amazing," said Oakville Centre. Sahil Ahuja, a Grade 8 professionalism and that we The special handchoir member. picked choir of Fern Hill have a really nice tone." "It makes us feel realstudents was assembled ly special." for a performance with Natalie Spurrell The choir was left to Fern Hill School music teacher the same quartet at the prepare on its own, as True Patriot Love Dinner the Canadian Tenors in Toronto this October. weren't able to rehearse "It was going to be one event, so we with the students until the sound check called it the True Patriot Love Choir, but for Canada AM last Thursday morning. since then, we've been invited to sing The choral arrangements were chalmore regularly, so now we call them the lenging and the students had to work hard to prepare, according to Spurrell. Canadian Tenors Choir," Spurrell said. "They are three-part and are quite diffiThe choir seems to have made quite an impression on the professional quartet, cult, especially when you are singing backmotivating them to ask the students to up in a choir and there aren't a lot of accompany them in performances during words, but mostly `ahs', so there's the the holiday season. challenge of memorizing how the lines "They (the Canadian Tenors) said the go," she said. "But the kids are focused and they will be great. They always rise to the occasion." Kate Neweduk, an aspiring singer and Grade 8 student, said she doesn't mind the hard work required to prepare for the holiday performances, adding that she was looking forward to being on stage with the Canadian Tenors again. "On stage, if anyone is nervous, they are so friendly that they make us feel better," she said. "They are very funny and it is nice for us to learn how to be professional." Spurrell said the Canadian Tenors have made a significant impact on the students. "First of all, there are four men who are singing, which is great for our boys who are singing because they make singing cool," she said. "We've actually had two students, a male and female, take an arrangement of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and apply it to two-part harmony and they sang it at our Christmas concert and you can hear the Canadian Tenors' influence, especially on the boy who sang. They've definitely inspired the students." Spurrell said this is a once-in-a-lifetime musical opportunity for the kids and credits the parents and students for making time for it. "I know that families are very busy, but I also know that parents realize it is a great opportunity for the students," she said.