Mirinesse Means "Joyful Women"
Though this is the organization's first few months of existence, the Mirinesse women's choir sings with confidence -- not surprising, as many of its members formerly belonged to the Northwest Girlchoir. Their whirlwind first season is already over -- three concerts this June, at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Stanwood, and Seattle's Trinity Episcopal. Still, it's worth making plans to catch them next year.
Founded by Beth Ann Bonnecroy and Rebecca Rottsolk, the choir celebrates choral repertoire for women from around the world. The insta-choir held auditions in February and March ("We decided to be selective and keep the size at around 40 members," said Bonnecroy), rehearsed April and May, and performed in June.
Their first concert program featured “Mass #6” by Hungarian composer, Gyorgy Orban; in French, two songs each by Faure and Debussy; in Spanish, a song each from Ernani Aguiar, Alberto Favero, and Antonio Estevez; a set of "celestially" themed songs ("Chasing Northern Lights," "The Angels Will Guide You Home," "Night," and "Psalm 23"); and four spirituals and a Kenyan folk song, Wana Baraka.
Standouts were Faure's "Au bord de l'eau," Debussy's "Mandoline," and Estevez's gorgeous "Mata del anima sola." Occasional Seattlest contributor Margaret Higginson's solo was memorably sung, with a rich, full tone -- we hadn't heard her sing before, and it turns out she has gold-plated pipes.
"So for your theme...you just decided to sing whatever pieces you liked," we ventured to Bonnecroy afterwards, who laughed and agreed. There was something special about each piece, it turned out -- for instance, the spirituals arranged by Gwyneth Walker ("Never Sit Down!," "Walk That Valley," "So Many Angels") were hot off the press, not even recorded yet.
Bonnecroy (who also conducts the middle-schoolers in Vivace, part of the Northwest Girlchoir) shares conducting duties with Rottsolk (the artistic director of the Northwest Girlchoir from 1982-2001). Each sings as a member of the choir when not conducting. Both got their Bachelors in Music from St. Olaf College, in case that ever comes up in a trivia round.
