Viva Chorale

08/25/2026

Singers wanted!
Viva Chorale is accepting new singers for our SEA FOLK concerts (NOV.14th/15th) and Christmas Food Bank Fundraiser Concert (Dec.18th)

Rehearsals start this FRIDAY - AUGUST 28th.

Weekly Friday practices from 6:45 to 9:00pm @ the Baptist Church. + some sectionals on Saturday Afternoons

High School STUDENTS WELCOME - Cost $75 from Sept- December
ADULTS WELCOME - Cost $150 from Sept - December

We are a dynamic choir that performs regularly for the community and seeks excellence in our artistry.

Repertoire is a mix of world folk music, classical and contemporary choral compositions.

This term expect sea songs of the the fun and fantastic from across the globe.

Practice tracks for part learning are available and ability to read music is not a requirement but a time commitment to learning and practicing at home is important.

For Questions and inquiries please contact our director Caroni Young: [email protected]

Viva Chorale! is a group of singers on Salt Spring Island who foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and dedication to each other and to our community.

06/29/2026

We are done now for the summer, but it won't be long before our Fall season begins. If you'd like to sing with us for our Sea Folk concerts, please email [email protected] or [email protected] to be put on the mailing list.

Have a great summer!

06/17/2026

The Fern Collectors - A Choral Concert
"Very Much looking forward to this concert! It's one of the most unusual programs I've put together so far. It's designed around a FERN FAD that took for the UK circa 1850-1900. I've added direct transitions between pieces including Canadian folk, Choral gems like Elgar's "My love dwelt in a northern land" and the Podd Brothers arrangement of "More waters Rising" - Come Check it out!! This weekend!!" Caroni Young, Artistic Director

This concert is NOT a collection of songs about ferns! There is something for everyone. And every song does somehow have a link, however tenuous, to a specific fern!

Concert venue: All Saints by-the-Sea, 110 Park Drive, Salt Spring Island
Concert times: Saturday June 20th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday June 21st at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $30 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under), available online via this link, or by cash at Apple Photo or at the door.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Viva-Chorale-Society-Salt-Spring-Island/events/the-fern-collectors-choral-concert/

06/12/2026

Do please come out and support us and Stonewell Farm on June 28th 1pm!

06/12/2026

Tickets are now on sale for our concerts on Sat-Sun June 20-21 "The Fern Collectors"!

This concert is NOT a collection of songs about ferns! Our repertoire is varied, from classical choral gems to folk music of the fun and fanciful. There is something for everyone. And every song does somehow have a link, however tenuous, to a specific fern!

Viva Chorale! choir is directed by Caroni Young, and accompanied by Patricia Flannagan.

Concert venue: All Saints by-the-Sea, 110 Park Drive, Salt Spring Island.

Concert times: Saturday June 20th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday June 21st at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $30 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under), available online via this link, or by cash at Apple Photo or at the door.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Viva-Chorale-Society-Salt-Spring-Island/events/the-fern-collectors-choral-concert/

06/08/2026

The Fern Collectors! Get your tickets NOW!
Join Viva Chorale as they delve into the wild world of Pteridomania, the 19th century fad that swept through the U.K and the U.S. and caused the public from all walks of life to develop a fantastic case of Fern Fever! Here on Salt Spring we take the abundance of ferns for granted, in fact they are so common we would be hard pressed to find a stretch of forest without ferns.

In the mid 1800’s fern fever was all the rage! Fern collecting holidays were quite common and books for collectors and cultivators were widespread. It was quite common for the average family to have a special fern case in their living room! Fern patterned pottery, iron work, wallpaper and various Fern inspired items hit the shelves! Some Industrious folks would pick ferns in the morning and have them shipped to the big cities to sell in the afternoon.

Fern collecting became so popular that in many areas of the UK the act of fern collecting had to be banned as some varieties were becoming extinct!

However, this concert is NOT a collection of songs about ferns! Our repertoire is varied, from classical choral gems to folk music of the fun and fanciful. There is something for everyone. And every song does somehow have a link, however tenuous, to a specific fern! Can you guess which?! Be prepared to step into the role of Fern Collector as you pay close attention to our varied repertoire and seek to find the ferns referenced within. This interactive concert may cause you to suddenly stop on your walk, to peer intently into the nearest ditch, to look way up to the side of a mossy maple and suddenly develop a case of Fern Fever!

Viva Chorale! choir is directed by Caroni Young and accompanied by Patricia Flannagan.

Concert venue: All Saints by-the-Sea, 110 Park Drive, Salt Spring Island

Concert times: Saturday, June 20th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 21st at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $30 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under), available online via this link, or by cash at Apple Photo or at the door.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Viva-Chorale-Society-Salt-Spring-Island/events/the-fern-collectors-choral-concert/

05/25/2026

Our Fern Collectors' concert is getting close! Although it is not a collection of songs about ferns, every song does somehow have a link, however tenuous, to a specific fern.

Here is an image of a Deer Fern aka Blechnum spicant:
"You walk two ways:
one frond reaching skyward, one keeping close to earth.
Teach us how to grow without forgetting
where our roots still drink."

04/27/2026

The Fern Collectors - Choral Concert:
Sword Fern - Polystichum munitum
Guardian of the forest edge,
you stand where paths begin and end.
Teach us strength that shelters
and constancy that does not harden.

Photo credit: Anthony Mensah on Unsplash

04/09/2026

Where the Ferns Remember

In the shaded ravines of Salt Spring
the ferns unscroll their ancient prayers—
green scripts written before fences,
before names were fixed to maps.

They rise where water moves slowly,
where stone keeps the memory of rain,
each frond a listening ear
to footsteps long gone.

Hands once gathered them gently,
or not gently enough,
yet still they return—
keepers of shade, of patience, of place.

Blessed are the ferns of the islands:
rooted in shadow, faithful to damp earth,
teaching us how to belong
without needing to be taken.