Newfoundland singers ready to rep Canada at prestigious Welsh competition

A group of Newfoundland women are preparing to represent their country on the world stage, at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (Garrett Barry/CTV News)

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. - A group of Newfoundland women are preparing to represent their country on the world stage, at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Lady Cove, a women’s choir based in St. John’s, will compete in three categories at the historical festival next month in Wales. They are set to be the only Canadian competitors in any of their choral categories.

“I think it will be a really cool experience, something that’s nerve-wracking because it means so much,” said singer Emmajane Donnan, who is a second-year music student at Memorial University.

“I’ve done lots of singing and stuff like that, and one choir competition before, but never something to this level… It’s definitely really exciting.”

The group is preparing a mix of Canadian and European folk songs for their competition, including an arrangement of Atlantic Blue, a song written by Newfoundland folk icon Ron Hynes.

The song immortalizes the Ocean Ranger disaster with lyrics from the perspective of a woman left to mourn her partner’s death.

The Ocean Ranger was an oil drilling platform that sunk during a storm on Feb. 15, 1982. All 84 crew members on board died during the sinking — in part, according to a royal commission that studied the incident, due to inadequate safety training and equipment.

Three drivers were killed the following year during operations to move the wreckage.

The choir’s version of Atlantic Blue was arranged by the group’s pianist Leslee Heys.

“How we sing our stories, it’s something very unique about our province,” said choir director Kellie Walsh. “When you can actually put it in the art form of singing as a collective group, it just transcends talking about something.”

The choir will also sing Ah! Si mon moine voulait danser!, a Quebec folk song, and a traditional Latvian song.

The Welsh festival has roots in the Second World War and has been a destination for the top choirs around the world for decades. Invitations to compete or showcase are sent after an application process.

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti is one of many famous singers who performed in the festival — he was 19 at the time. Festival organizers have named a trophy in honour of the singer. That trophy is awarded to the “Choir of the World.”

“It’s kind of the like the Olympics, because you’re actually going and you’re meeting groups and competing with and listening to other incredible ensembles from around the world,” Walsh explained.

“It’s like one of those major games,” she added with a smile.

Lady Cove has been performing as a group for 23 years under the direction of Kellie Walsh. She founded the group in 2003, and sought a name that was distinctively Newfoundland and Labrador.

The group is audition-based but remains a community choir.

Together, they have showcased and competed at several international festivals. They’re one part challenge, Walsh said, and another part dream — during the time abroad the women will live almost like full-time musicians, she explained, without having to worry about work or other responsibilities back home.

“To have that little tiny time in their lives where they’re just focusing on being a musician and being together and being the absolute best that they can,” Walsh said. “Then to put that on the world stage, it’s a really, really special time for people.”