Rossland Glee Club ready for inaugural gig
By Andrew Zwicker
Strip away the mega-star cameos, the high school love stories and slushy attacks and what you’ve got left of Glee the TV show is a bunch of everyday folks with a penchant for song and dance that, when put together with proper direction, has spawned a hit TV show and seemingly weekly appearances on the iTunes charts. Consequently the old glee club tradition is currently undergoing a revival. Rossland’s Glee club, now two years old and under the direction of Nadine Tremblay, is about to rock their first real gig this week along with the June Bugs.
Launched two years ago by Tremblay through Rossland Recreation as a choir project, Tremblay’s love for all things musical theatre has steadily shifted the group from a choir into a full on glee club complete with choreography.
“It’s kind of like a techniques class slash choir,” explained Tremblay. “We do technique for part of the class and note learning and actually learn songs for the second half of the class. It was turning into too much musical theatre because I love musical theatre–so we renamed it the Rossland Glee club.”
Of course, the group was not started because of the show, but it certainly has gained some additional appeal because of it.
“Everyone is into that show so they just love it, and it definitely inspires us here and there as well as attracts more people to the group. We just have a bit of choreography so we can call ourselves ‘glee’ now,” added Tremblay.
Singing and practicing together each week the 24 strong group has quickly developed its own identityd. With Tremblay off touring for the past month with Iron Mountain Theatre’s Ski Bum: The Musical the group kept working on their own purely out of love for the music.
“We’re totally stoked about it,” added Tremblay. “We haven’t had glee practice for over a month, but the group gets together once a week on their own to sing just because they are so gung-ho and love glee club so much.”
Taking to the stage at the Miners’ Hall this Thursday, the Glee club will be opening for the June Bugs in their first official gig. Thus far the group has brought their glee to the Joe Hill Coffee House events and put on their own year-end recital last year. This Thursday’s show, however, will be the group’s official coming out party as they hit the local stage to show off their talents and infect the audience with their energy.
“I think this group is really, really good,” said Tremblay. “For a bunch of people who have only been training for a year and a half and only meet once a week, they really have it together.”
A quick preview of the group’s set list for this week’s show reveals a widely diverse range of genres and tunes. There will be a South African Zulu song in the midst of a 15th century madrigal, a Joni Mitchell tune and a full-on musical theatre number–“Season of Song” from Rent–to keep toes tapping.
Although this season of Glee Rossland is soon coming to an end, the group will be back in the fall and welcoming new members. If you’re a fan of the TV show or find yourself wishing you were on the stage rather than in the crowd this Thursday, you might just be a candidate for the Rossland Glee Club.
It’s not all fun and games, though. The current Glee team has put in lots of hard work and practice to get to level they’re at. If you think you might be up for the challenge, however, Tremblay is happy to outline just what makes a good Glee member:
“A good individual member would be someone who practices and learns their notes. Someone who practices at home is great. Of course it’s a choir and that takes a lot of dedication to the group so you have to show up so you don’t miss any of the direction. Someone who knows the music off by heart and can look up without keeping their head in their book the whole time is ideal. Someone who pays attention to the dynamic marking and has learned the musicality of the notes as taught.
“I also try to do a bit of a performance angle in that I want the choir members to look like they are having fun and listen to the words and try and tell a story so that it’s not just a park and bark show.”
Sharing the stage Thursday night with the Glee clubbers will be the all woman group, the June Bugs. Combining the forces of sweet five part harmonies and a fully acoustic setup the Bugs perform everything from upbeat gospel, saucy bluegrass to traditional folk and a healthy dose of their own originals.
“Their music reflects a shared passion for the pure, heart-piercing magic of acoustic music and the marvel of well-blended vocal harmonies,” wrote one reviewer.
Tickets at Out of the Cellar, Columbia Ave, Rossland Or Charles Bailey Theatre Box Office 1- 866-368-9669
Doors at 7:30 – Concert at 8:00 PM.
Treats and beverages by Rossland Interact Club
