Monteverdi Vespers in Concert

Belle Voci

Cantus
Paula DeWit
Sonja Strimbei

Sextus
Madeleine Hessels
Nancy Hasiuk
Jaime Rene

Altus
Katie Fernandez
Erik Kallo
Julia Nikolaeva
Deborah Handley
Sheila Wright

Tenor
Mark De Silva
Fr Matt Koovisk

Quintus
Rick Ruta
Steve Froese

Septimus
Richard Williams
Henry Waldock

Bassus
William Carlson
Jim Banman

TRANSLATIONS

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum.
Et exultávit spíritus meus: in Deo salutári meo.
Quia respéxit humilitátem ancíllae suae:
Ecce enim ex hoc beátam me dicent omnes generatiónes.
Quia fécit mihi mágna qui pótens est: et sánctum nómen eius.
Et misericórdia eius in progénies et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fécit poténtiam in bráchio suo: dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui.
Depósuit poténtes de sede: et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis: et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum: recordátus misericórdiae suae.
Sicut locútus est ad patres nostros: Ábraham, et sémini eius in saecula.
Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto,
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

Magnificat
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because He hath regarded the humility of His slave:
For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is His name.
And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him.
He hath shewed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy:
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever, Amen.

An enthusiastic singer since childhood, Sonja started with voice lessons and choir in elementary school. She went on to sing with her high school choir, and also joined the choir at a private girls’ school in Tokyo, Japan, where she studied on exchange. Sonja continued to pursue voice, piano and theory lessons with music teachers all over the Lower Mainland. She graduated from UBC in 2010 with a BA (Hons.) in German and English Language.

Since moving to the Fraser Valley, Sonja has sung with Evensong Chamber Singers for several seasons. While enrolled at the Chilliwack Academy of Music, she was awarded scholarships for Senior Voice Performance in 2015 and 2016. She has also participated in local music festivals, including the Chilliwack Lions Club Music and Dance Festival, where she won awards for Senior Vocal Champion in 2015 and Open Masters Vocal Champion in 2016 and 2017. Recently, Sonja received the Dr. Jeanette Gallant Award for a Promising Senior Classical Voice Student at the 2018 Kiwanis Fraser Valley International Music Festival.

Sonja is a soprano and has a strong interest in early, renaissance and baroque music performance.

Erik Kallo received his Bachelors of Voice Performance at the UBC and a Master of Music at the Royal College of Music in London, England.

In Canada, Erik primarily sang for West Vancouver United Church as a professional soloist and musica intima; a Juno award-nominated self-directed vocal chamber ensemble.
During his time at the Royal College of Music in London, England, Erik performed in Opera Scenes and had done Masterclasses with notable musicians such as:
Ashley Solomon’s Baroque Ensemble Florilegium, Robin Blaze, and Michael Chance among many others.
He also sang the role of Armindo from Handel’s Partenope with Hampstead Garden Opera and was a semi-finalist in one of the most prestigious vocal competitions the Kathleen Ferrier Wigmore Hall competition.

Mark De Silva sang in choirs and played the violin in orchestras and ensembles at school and universities in England. He was a member of choral ensembles in the UK, the USA, and Canada, performing in concerts and tours in North America, Europe and Asia, and recordings, radio broadcasts and festivals. Mark had voice teachers, coaches and mentors in Canada including George Roberts, Bruce Pullan, Peter Butterfield and Selena James. He is an alumnus of Laudate Singers, the Vancouver Cantata Singers, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir.

Mark has appeared as a guest soloist with ensembles throughout BC, in oratorios including Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Mass in B minor, Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem and Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla. His solo work includes tenor solos in “Sing Along Messiah” with the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performances with Belle Voci, the Handel Society of Music, the Postmodern Camerata, Vancouver Voices, the Turning Point Ensemble, the Borealis String Quartet, the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, the Okanagan Festival Singers, the Capilano University Choirs and Paragon Singers. His recitals include Lieder, Art songs and song cycles by Benjamin Britten, and operatic arias by Verdi and Puccini.

Richard Williams has been heard with various choirs and orchestras throughout Western Canada, including the Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble, West Coast Symphony, Vancouver SummerChor, Kamloops Symphony, Handel Society and various others in the region. He made his European debut in 1992, and for several years performed in many of the world’s great music centers, including Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Milan and Paris.