A Concert to Celebrate Brigid Coult!
Richmond Orchestra & Chorus Association is celebrating Brigid’s 30 years with the chorus – and RAPS is the community partner at a very special concert April 6.
One of RAPS’ most devoted volunteers is being celebrated – but this time it’s for music, not moggies!
Brigid Coult is a familiar face to felines and humans at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary. She is also the author of countless blog posts introducing the unique personalities of Sanctuary residents to the world. In addition to her volunteering with the kitties, and sharing their stories, she is being honoured April 6 by the Richmond Orchestra & Chorus Association at a concert marking her 30 years as director of Richmond Chorus.
The concert will feature secular and sacred music, “old favourites and new challenges,” and will share some of the reasons choral singers come together to make music.
In honour of Brigid’s two lifelong commitments, RAPS is the community partner for this concert celebration. RAPS reps will be on site to share information about our work and RAPS CEO Eyal Lichtmann will share a few words about Brigid’s devotion to the animals.
BRIGID AND RAPS
Since 2010, Brigid has been an indispensable force at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary. She introduces the place and its residents to visitors as a tour guide and does the glamourous jobs like poop-scooping, cleaning and feeding the hundreds of insatiable cats. She writes the blog posts that are so valuable in individualizing the personalities of the residents – and she captures the nuances of their character with articulate, insightful and humourous writing. Her blog posts are also accompanied by photos taken by her and other Sanctuary volunteers and staff, which capture the spirit of the cats and melt hearts with feline portraiture.
On top of all this, Brigid was the one who launched the annual tradition of RAPS calendars, which grace so many homes and remind supporters every day, every month, that their kindness is helping RAPS save and improve the lives of animals.
“I love my regular work as a musician and an arts administrator,” says Brigid. “And I love that volunteering at the Sanctuary is so different from that! It’s a Sanctuary for cats, but it’s one for the humans too. Yes, not all the work is fun (who likes scooping poop?) but there’s always the chance to sit down and visit with a few furry friends. As I get older, I’m finding that I need to take more time for myself, to say ‘No’ to taking extra things on. But time spent with the cats is time that feeds me. The hard part about it is when we lose them …”
ABOUT ROCA AND BRIGID …
In 1986, a small group of Richmond musicians shared a desire to make music for their community and the Richmond Orchestra & Chorus was formed. Since then the organization has grown to almost 100 members, all committed to providing an opportunity for musicians to share the joy of music in practice and performance. Members range in age from high school students to seniors; they come from all walks of life, and welcome the opportunity to share their love of music with a wider audience. Chorus and Orchestra perform separately as well as together.
Brigid Coult has been the Chorus Conductor since 1994, and in her hands the group has grown both in numbers and musicianship. They love to present a variety of repertoire from the beauty of the classics, through seasonal traditions and the uplifting passion of sacred and spiritual, to the delights of folk, jazz, modern and show tunes. Last year the season ended with a full orchestral-choral presentation of rock songs from the 60s to the 80s, with Frank Ludwig of Trooper as the MC; in the fall the season began with the lovely music of Mozart and Vivaldi.
ROCA has a tradition of featuring a community group at their concerts, giving the audience a chance to learn about the work that is going on in the community. At Christmas it’s always the Food Bank; when it came to planning this concert the Board decided to approach RAPS – representing Brigid’s non-musical passion. Ten years ago, the Chorus had offered a program called All Creatures Great and Small, in which RAPS was the community partner; the program this season is not about animals, but it is about Brigid, and some of her particular choices for the Chorus – and it was time to shine a spotlight on RAPS again.
Brigid has recently retired after 21 years as Director of Music at St Mary’s Kerrisdale Anglican Church; she has served with the BC Choral Federation since 1983, and has been their Project Manager since 2006, coordinating workshops, fundraising events and many other activities across the province, and that work continues. She is loving the time that retirement offers to spend more time at the Cat Sanctuary, to write the weekly blogs, to add Kitty Comforting to her official list of activities and to fill in for shifts as needed.
Get your tickets to the concert here!
