Sage Valley Voices celebrate the 70s

by Heather Fink

The Sage Valley Voices is a 45 to 50-member adult choir based at the United Church in Oliver.  Alice DeRoche has fearlessly, and with much patience and good humor, led the Voices for the past eleven years, selecting the music, writing scripts, sewing costumes, and she has even had a hand in designing sets for the choir’s performances.  A busy lady indeed!

The Sage Valley Voices will present their 2012 spring concerts, “GOLDEN DECADE OF THE 70s“, featuring a variety of cool music from the 1970’s – think ABBA, McCartney, Cash, Denver, Broadway show tunes and more! – on Saturday May 5 at 7:00 pm and Sunday May 6 at 2:30 pm at the Oliver United Church.  Admission is $10 at the door and includes sweet treats following the concerts.

The choir is a non-profit organization and proceeds from the concerts support local community outreach programs such as the church’s soup kitchen and the Oliver Food Bank.  Donations of non-perishable food for the food bank are always welcome at the concerts.

The choir usually performs four concerts per year, two in December and two in April or May, and welcomes new members – no audition required.  Rehearsals are on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Oliver United Church. If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a part of this fun-loving show choir, or for more information, please contact Lois Bzdel at 250-497-7966, or Alice DeRoche at 250-492-4159.

Sage Valley Voices sing the 70s

The Sage Valley Voices are hard at work practicing for their upcoming concert “The Golden Decade of the Seventies”. This concert has something for everyone – a little country, theatre songs, movie music, and those great songs you heard on the radio – so don’t miss it !

Saturday May 5 
7:00 p.m.
Sunday May 6 
2:30 p.m.
$10 at the door
Oliver United Church
Admission includes refreshments
Donations to the Oliver Food Bank welcome!

Sage Valley Voices Choir sings the 70s – but beyond 2012?

by Heather Fink

The Sage Valley Voices is a 50-member adult choir based at the United Church in Oliver. Alice DeRoche has fearlessly, and with much patience and good humour, led the Voices for the past eleven years as their choral director, selecting the music, writing scripts, sewing costumes, and she has even had a hand in designing sets for the choir’s performances. A busy lady indeed! (The photo at left is from the choir’s early days. The choir now boasts 50 members. Ed.)

The Sage Valley Voices will present their 2012 spring concert, “Here Come the 70s!” which will feature an array of music from the 1970’s (think ABBA, Johnny Cash, John Denver, even some disco) on Saturday May 5th at 7:00 pm and Sunday May 6th at 2:30 pm at the Oliver United Church. Admission is $10 at the door. (Revised dates)

The choir is a non-profit organization and supports such local community outreach programs as the food bank and soup kitchen. The choir welcomes new members – no audition required – and rehearsals are on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Oliver United Church.

At this time, the future of the Sage Valley Voices is in considerable doubt as we are in grave need of a new pianist. If you or anyone you know is interested in playing piano accompaniment for this fun-loving choir, or for more information about the choir, please send a message to Lois Bzdel or Alice DeRoche by writing c/o the arts council: OliverCAC@gmail.com Your message will be forwarded promptly. Don’t let the music stop!

Down Home Christmas with Sage Valley Voices

A Down Home Christmas to get you in the spirit! The Sage Valley Voices are known locally for their lively programmes, zany humour, colourful costumes, and … surprises! Their sense of fun and love of singing comes across in every performance. A true “community choir” that knows what its audience likes, and delivers.

You can also “sample” the choir in performance at Oliver’s downtown LightUp celebration on the evening of Friday December 2 and at the Community Christmas Concert on December 4 at 2:30 p.m. on the  Oliver Alliance Church stage.  But you’ll want  to get the full show “Down Home” on December 10 & 11 at Oliver United Church (see poster for details). 

The choir is hunting for a new director to carry on the tradition. Are you interested? Find out more by contacting the arts council and we’ll pass your inquiry along olivercac @ gmail.com  Don’t let “A Down Home Christmas” be their last concert!  These folks are just having way to much fun to stop!

Choir goes "Down Memory Lane" April 16 &17

It’s been ten years already, since Alice Deroche started waving her arms (and sometimes stamping her feet ) in front of a motley crew of local yokels who grew into their name: The Sage Valley Voices! Her dream of a thriving community choir singing and smiling their way through the seasons, sometimes with a bit of musical theatre thrown in, making happy and pleasing sounds, continues to be fulfilled as evidenced by the growth of our audiences. The choir’s performances at the Oliver United Church are most often sold out, and the choir has grown too, numbering almost 50 now, doubling in size since the beginning and challenging Alice to keep us all in line.

We’ll be singing in style for the tenth spring in a row. Come help us celebrate Alice for her years of dedication creating these programs and offering them to you. Come join our party as we dream of yesteryear, presenting many of the favourites we’ve performed in the past. (Photo at left is from the 2010 concert “Sixties with a Twist”) We’ve prepared love songs, sad songs, a bit of country, certainly spiritual and gospel. Rumours of guest appearances the likes of Elvis, Marilyn, Manhattan Transfer, and perhaps even “Mama”, shouldn’t be exaggerated – but guaranteed each performance will be full of surprises. Of course there’ll be swinging and swooning, boogying and jiving as we present “Those Fabulous Fifties”. Count on some foot stomping (or at least tapping) of your own during “Shades of Country” and just see if you can sit still during “The Sixties With a Twist.”

Alice has led the choir through many additions and changes. We’re fortunate this year to get a sampling of memorable moments from the last ten years. Is fashion your thing? Even just to laugh at, or to remember that you used to be able to fit into some of them? Do you like coffee and goodies afterwards? Well, it’s a party, so you can be sure something will be arranged! Do you enjoy silent auctions? You’re bound to find something you’d like to bid on, so break open that piggy bank and bring your loonie and toonie collection. Got a special anniversary coming up? We do! Let’s get together and celebrate! Bring your honey, your Mom or your favourite aunt, bring the kids and grandkids or a special neighbour and share with them our gift of song.

See you

Down Memory Lane
 Sat. April 16
7:00 pm 
Sun. April 17 
2:30 pm
Oliver United Church
Tickets: $10.00 available at the door
Price includes coffee and cake, fashion show
Come up to 45 minutes early to place bids on the silent auction. Bring your loonies and twoonies and chequebook to take advantage of  these great items!  

Choir goes “Down Memory Lane” April 16 &17

It’s been ten years already, since Alice Deroche started waving her arms (and sometimes stamping her feet ) in front of a motley crew of local yokels who grew into their name: The Sage Valley Voices! Her dream of a thriving community choir singing and smiling their way through the seasons, sometimes with a bit of musical theatre thrown in, making happy and pleasing sounds, continues to be fulfilled as evidenced by the growth of our audiences. The choir’s performances at the Oliver United Church are most often sold out, and the choir has grown too, numbering almost 50 now, doubling in size since the beginning and challenging Alice to keep us all in line.

We’ll be singing in style for the tenth spring in a row. Come help us celebrate Alice for her years of dedication creating these programs and offering them to you. Come join our party as we dream of yesteryear, presenting many of the favourites we’ve performed in the past. (Photo at left is from the 2010 concert “Sixties with a Twist”) We’ve prepared love songs, sad songs, a bit of country, certainly spiritual and gospel. Rumours of guest appearances the likes of Elvis, Marilyn, Manhattan Transfer, and perhaps even “Mama”, shouldn’t be exaggerated – but guaranteed each performance will be full of surprises. Of course there’ll be swinging and swooning, boogying and jiving as we present “Those Fabulous Fifties”. Count on some foot stomping (or at least tapping) of your own during “Shades of Country” and just see if you can sit still during “The Sixties With a Twist.”

Alice has led the choir through many additions and changes. We’re fortunate this year to get a sampling of memorable moments from the last ten years. Is fashion your thing? Even just to laugh at, or to remember that you used to be able to fit into some of them? Do you like coffee and goodies afterwards? Well, it’s a party, so you can be sure something will be arranged! Do you enjoy silent auctions? You’re bound to find something you’d like to bid on, so break open that piggy bank and bring your loonie and toonie collection. Got a special anniversary coming up? We do! Let’s get together and celebrate! Bring your honey, your Mom or your favourite aunt, bring the kids and grandkids or a special neighbour and share with them our gift of song.

See you

Down Memory Lane
 Sat. April 16
7:00 pm 
Sun. April 17 
2:30 pm
Oliver United Church
Tickets: $10.00 available at the door
Price includes coffee and cake, fashion show
Come up to 45 minutes early to place bids on the silent auction. Bring your loonies and twoonies and chequebook to take advantage of  these great items!  

Winter Fantasy: A Dickensian Christmas Chorale

The Sage Valley Voices Community Choir presents

Winter Fantasy

a medley of favourite Christmas music
Saturday December 11
7:00 p.m.
Sunday December 12
2:30 p.m.
Oliver United Church
$8.00 Admission
includes post-concert Reception downstairs
Food Bank Donations Welcome!

This is a fun-loving  group of singers that loves to entertain in costume. You can expect a varied program, with lots of humour and sparkle .

Looking for more Christmas music? See below for information on “Sleighbells and Song”, a concert featuring children’s choirs, the a cappella Desert Airs men’s chorus, and the Penticton Concert Band on Tuesday December 7. You can catch both performances for less than a $20 bill! Where else could you find a deal like that?  

Sage Valley Voices Let the Sun Shine In

The Sage Valley Voices Community Choir had their audiences  singing along at their “Sixties with a Twist” concerts on April 24 and 25, 2010. The choir got into the spirit wearing a variety of costume styles from Kennedy chic to Mod to Hippy.

Left: Tamara and Brad get their groove on performing House of the Rising Sun.

  

  

    

Left: Choir members Carolyn, Linda N., Bernice, and Linda B.  take advantage of summery day in April to tie-dye their own T-shirts for the concert.

 

  

 

  

 

 

Left: Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis. Who are these masked ladies? They’ll never tell.

This is one fun choir – with lots of chutzpah!

 (Photo credits: Heather Fink)  

  

  

  

 

Sixties with a Twist

Cool mod to protest songs to California -dreamy beach songs, to groovy psychedelic … the Sage Valley Voices takes you on a magical mystical tour of the sixties at their upcoming concert: Sixties with a Twist!  You can expect the choir to get their groove on wearing tie-dye T-shirts and headbands or mod suits with narrow ties.  This group is always sure to entertain.

"Merry Christmas!" Concert with the Sage Valley Voices

141126c1  The Sage Valley Voices present
  “Merry Christmas!” Concert
  Saturday December 12
  7:00 p.m.
  Sunday December 13
  2:30 p.m.
  Oliver United Church
  Admission: $8.00
  Donations to the foodbank welcome
  Admission includes tea, coffee and    goodies after the performance.