A decade of classical music is being celebrated in Okotoks this weekend.
Community members are invited to the Foothills Philharmonic Society's 10th anniversary concert at the Okotoks Alliance Church on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m., with free tickets for children 12 and under.
The organization, which started in 2014 with the vision of bringing beautiful music to the Foothills, has come a long way in the last 10 years.
"About 10 years ago, me and a couple friends thought, 'You know, we like classical music and we know a couple friends who like classical music' so we decided we wanted to start up a classical choir," said Tim Korthuis, director of the Foothills Philharmonic Society. "When we had our first rehearsal...we had 94 people show up, so that was a good sign that people were interested.
"A couple years later we put together our first orchestra, and it still keeps growing."
Korthuis hopes to celebrate how big and diverse the organization has become.
The concert will feature performances from the choir, orchestra, jazz singers and more of the society's diverse groups, including the debut of the youth choir.
"It's just an opportunity for the ensembles and the public to celebrate what we've seen grow in 10 years," he said. "Lots and lots of phenomenal songs we'll be doing."
The Foothills Philharmonic Society is also excited to be welcoming the Juno-nominated Canadian Chamber Choir to Okotoks for two events on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Dr. Julia Davids, artistic director for the national choir, will be hosting a vocal workshop in the afternoon, and in the evening the two choirs will perform together at a concert.
"They're doing a tour around Canada and they actually contacted us," said Korthuis. "We've worked with their director, Tim Chance, a bunch. It's very encouraging to have him recommend that they contact us because he knows that there's lots of appreciation in the Foothills."
This will be the Canadian Chamber Choir's first time in Okotoks and its first visit to the Calgary area since 2007.
"It's also that hearing music at such a high level shows what can be accomplished... when you just listen to some gorgeous piece of music that has a specific message, or listen to something beautiful and going, 'Jeez, I didn't know voices could sound like that,'" he said.
Korthuis is excited to welcome the national group to Okotoks, and for the future of music in the Foothills.
"I just want to bring [classical music] to Okotoks," said Korthuis. "There's so many musicians here. We're able to find all the skills here, and they definitely seem to be working well.
"We're really excited about what we put together in 10 years and the beautiful music we've been able to bring to Foothills area that we love."
More information about upcoming Foothills Philharmonic events, including where to get tickets for the 10th anniversary concert, is available here.
