Viva Chorale

Viva Chorale We are a community-based choir situated on beautiful Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada We welcome all ages from youth to adult.

We are a community of singers who foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and dedication to each other and to our community. We are a ‘choir for the community’, which means that we perform in a variety of venues for free and take part in fundraising for SS Island charitable organizations. We are financially supported by Island businesses and individuals. We are singing at an intermediate level and

are a member in good standing of the British Columbia Choral Federation (BCCF). Our mandate is to work towards a balance between growth in musicianship, fun, and financial security for the choir. We commit to sharing our music with the Salt Spring community, especially performances in care facilities. We welcome additional performance opportunities which help us to sing together more, which improves our overall sound. We understand that the more we sing together, the better we will sound.

Our Fern Collectors' concert is getting close! Although it is not a collection of songs about ferns, every song does som...
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."

The Fern Collectors - Choral Concert:Sword Fern - Polystichum munitumGuardian of the forest edge,you stand where paths b...
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

Where the Ferns RememberIn the shaded ravines of Salt Springthe ferns unscroll their ancient prayers—green scripts writt...
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.

Who collected ferns on Salt Spring & nearby islands?Settlers & island naturalists: Early settlers, teachers, and clergy ...
03/23/2026

Who collected ferns on Salt Spring & nearby islands?
Settlers & island naturalists: Early settlers, teachers, and clergy collected ferns as part of natural history study.
Pressed fern albums were common in island homes.
Specimens were often mailed to Victoria, Vancouver, and eastern Canada

Women played a key role: fern collecting was considered a “proper” scientific hobby; many women corresponded with botanists but were rarely credited.

Victoria-based botanists & institutions: Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands were frequent field destinations for members of the Victoria Natural History Society (founded 1884) and collectors supplying specimens to the Provincial Museum (later the Royal BC Museum)
universities and British herbaria.

Day trips by boat made the islands ideal collecting grounds.

BC residents - here's an easy way to support Viva Chorale community choir! Buy raffle tickets for a chance to win up to ...
03/21/2026

BC residents - here's an easy way to support Viva Chorale community choir! Buy raffle tickets for a chance to win up to $2,000! Our choir gets 60% of ticket sales through this link, and we really appreciate your support!!
https://bccf.rafflenexus.com/a/viva-chorale

Victorian Fern Fever! Check it out!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hIHpvhxP18
03/16/2026

Victorian Fern Fever! Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hIHpvhxP18

Pteridomania, also known as Victorian Fern Fever, or Fern Madness, swept across Victorian England and almost wiped out an entire plant group. In this episode...

The Fern Collectors: The Gulf Islands attracted fern collectors c. 1870s-1910s. Salt Spring Island and the surrounding G...
03/09/2026

The Fern Collectors: The Gulf Islands attracted fern collectors c. 1870s-1910s. Salt Spring Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands sit at a botanical crossroads of coastal Douglas Fir forests, Garry Oak meadows, and shaded ravines, sandstone bluffs, and moist shoreline forests. This diversity made the islands especially attractive to Victorian-era naturalists seeking unusual and abundant fern species within easy reach of Victoria.

Conservation awakening: By the early 1900s, overharvesting of ferns raised alarm. Strathcona Provincial Park (1911) helped protect key habitats. Fern collecting shifted from extraction to study and appreciation.

Today, evidence of the fern-collecting era (1840s-1910s) is found at the Royal BC Museum Herbarium, UBC Herbarium, and the National Herbarium of Canada.

Photo credit: thorsten-hack-q-u1ATikHTI-unsplash

Our next concert is titled, "The Fern Collectors", based on the British widespread craze known as pteridomania (c.1840s-...
03/04/2026

Our next concert is titled, "The Fern Collectors", based on the British widespread craze known as pteridomania (c.1840s-1910s). The term was coined in 1855 by Charles Kingsley to describe the Victorian obsession with ferns, especially in Britain but also spread to North America and parts of Europe.

Coastal BC, with its temperate rainforests, was especially alluring - home to lush, ancient fern species unseen by European collectors (c.1870-1910s). Long before Victorian collectors, Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, Haida, and other Nations used ferns for medicine and food preparation. They knew precise habitats and seasonal cycles.

Are you interested in Joining a Choir?We are a community choir that rehearses Friday Evenings @ the Baptist Church from ...
02/25/2026

Are you interested in Joining a Choir?

We are a community choir that rehearses Friday Evenings @ the Baptist Church from 6:45 - 9:00.

Spring session STARTS: FEB. 27th and runs till the concerts on June 20th & 21st @ All Saints.

Fee is $150.

This spring the choir will also be singing in Victoria as part of the PODIUM Choir festival on Friday. May 15th. (optional)

THE REPERTOIRE: Always a mix. Some classical, folk, gospel, music from around the world.

All voice parts are welcome. No choral experience necessary, but can be a steep learning curve, so consider the extra practice when you consider your time commitment. We do memorize some music for performances. Audio part tracks are provided for practice help if you don't read music yet.

If you're interested and want to learn more please e-mail me directly @ [email protected]

https://vivachoralesaltspring.com

Address

Salt Spring Island, BC

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