Lady Cove presents Comfort and Joy: A Newfoundland and Labrador Christmas; show features Fergus O’Byrne and Jim Payne
What happens when one of Canada’s leading choirs invites two of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most iconic folk artists to Christmas at the Cathedral and then hands the mic to the kids? On Nov. 29, Lady Cove presents Comfort and Joy: A Newfoundland and Labrador Christmas at the Anglican Cathedral in St John’s, an all local Christmas concert where every song, every arrangement, and every guest artist comes from this place.
The program features music from Newfoundland and Labrador only, arranged especially for Lady Cove by collaborative pianist and resident composer Leslee Heys. Joining the choir on stage are traditional music icons Jim Payne and Fergus O Byrne, artists who have helped define the sound of this province for decades. They will perform both with Lady Cove and in a featured set of their own. Young artist Mason Dicker, originally from Nain, Labrador and currently a student at Memorial University, will bring songs from Nunatsiavut, where Christmas music holds a very special place in the community’s cultural musical memory.
The biggest twist is for kids. During the first half of the evening, children ages 6 to 13 will gather with Juno nominated choral educator Robert Colbourne to learn the choruses of Newfoundland Christmas songs. After the break, they will step onto the Cathedral stage to perform those songs with Lady Cove, Jim, and Fergus in front of a full audience.
“We wanted to create the kind of Christmas concert that feels like home” says Artistic Director Kellie Walsh. “The music is ours, the stories are ours, and the kids in the audience become part of the show. It is about hearing our own sound at Christmas and passing it on in real time.”
“Newfoundland and Labrador has an incredibly rich song tradition” Walsh adds. “To have Jim and Fergus, Leslee, Robert, Mason and the choir, and a stage full of kids all in one night, all from here, feels like a snapshot of who we are as a community.