The Berkshire Choral Festival, a renowned Massachusetts-based institution dedicated to the art of choral singing, has selected Vancouver as one of three cities to host an intensive weeklong program next year. The decision marks the first time since 1997 that BCF has added a new venue to its roster of locations, which includes Sheffield, Massachusetts; Canterbury, England; Salzburg, Vienna; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“We very much wanted to have a presence on the West Coast of this continent,” explained the BCF's longtime artistic director Trudy Weaver Miller in a conversation with the Straight during a recent Vancouver visit. “From the minute we got here, we said, 'Okay, this is it. We need to look no further.'” Miller cited as decisive not only Vancouver's scenic beauty and cultural richness but also the fact that the city has “at least two world-class orchestras” and “a really well established choral tradition”.

From June 17 to 24, 2007, BCF will immerse some 180 skilled amateur singers from around the world in a series of rehearsals and workshops on the UBC campus. The outcome will be a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's towering Requiem on June 23 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, accompanied by the CBC Radio Orchestra. The entire week will unfold under the expert guidance of Duaine Wolfe, director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and a key player in the Aspen Music Festival and Canada's own National Arts Centre.

Local singers can check out details and apply at the BCF's Web site (www.chorus.org/). The deadline for applications is December 31.