After five years and umpteen concerts, Bethan Greaves has made choir music cool. Turning Madonna and Motown, disco and Christmas carols into spirited choral harmonies, the spiky cut blonde's Kassia Women's Choir is certainly not your typical hymnal unit.
Chronicling their highlights, they've put together their first CD, The First Five Years, and will release it by singing their heart out tonight at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. 'I just chose some of our favourites from our main concerts over the years,' Greaves (front centre in photo) said. 'We had an enormous amount of material to choose from.'
Greaves also has a reservoir of female singers just as large. The group tonight will total 45. 'Six of them have been with us since the first concert. But I'd say there are about 15 originals still on our books. This is Hong Kong, so people do move in and out, but now we're getting people coming back. One woman sang with us in 2003 and she just dropped us a line to say she's moving back in August.'
One thing that will likely never change is Kassia's novel approach to repertoire. Among future concerts Greaves enthusiastically detailed is an '80s music show and a film music night. But that doesn't mean Greaves doesn't enjoy a bit of traditionalism.
'My love is English cathedral music but it's hard to put bums on seats for that. We did just sing in St Andrew's and it's so nice to sing in a church again. But I love the fact that we can do anything. Variety is also what our women enjoy.'
The Kassia Women's Choir concert starts at 8pm and tickets - HK$220 and HK$180 - are available from Urbtix.