Janaya Fuller. (submitted photo/ Bonnie Fuller)

By Nigel Maxwell

Sing

Local woman joins Canadian choir at international show

May 11, 2019 | 10:00 AM

A St. Mary graduate will soon be packing her bags for Portugal, as a member of the only Canadian choir invited to sing at the World Choral Expo in July.

Janaya Fuller who currently attends the University of Alberta in Edmonton, told paNOW she is very excited about the trip.

“It’s a really, really, really important honour,” she said.

The Kokopelli Choir in Edmonton was the only choir from Canada and North America invited to attend the event. Fuller successfully auditioned for the Kokopelli Choir in September 2018.

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“I don’t particularly have any nerves [about the trip] because I have been a fan of Kokopelli for many years and I really have a lot of faith in us that we will be able to pull off amazing, absolutely life changing shows,” she said.

Fuller grew up in Shellbrook and attended Rivier Academy until its closure in June 2017, before graduating from Ecole St Mary in June 2018. She said her roots will always remain a big part of who she is.

“I don’t think I would be the person I am today in the choral world without being at St. Mary or at Rivier,” she said.

Fuller further credited her introduction to choir, choral training and her passion for choir to her high school music teachers Mrs. Lauren Lohneis and Mrs. Kayleigh Skomorowski.

Before they can board the plane in July, the choir has been tasked with raising $75,000 to cover the costs of all the choir members as well as the chaperones. Fuller said she was hoping to get some local sponsors to help her out.

“It would be very cool to bring that with me, to have some sort of local connection with Prince Albert when I go to Portgual and say ‘Oh yes they supported us,'” she said.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so online at this link, and type in the word ‘Kokopelli’ in the search box, and ‘World Choir Expo’ in the comment box.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell