(Posted 2:30 p.m., Jan. 27)
Orléans siblings to perform at Carnagie Hall with Calgary choir
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

St. Peter Players alumni Kate and Mike Heney will soon be performing at Carnagie Hall with the Calgary choral group Revv52. File photos.

It`s amazing what life can throw at you sometimes. In September, Kate and Mike Heney were mourning the sudden passing of their father Michael who was a popular teacher and football coach at St. Peter High School.

When their father passed away, the two siblings, who both live in Alberta now, raced back to Orléans to be with their mother for the funeral.

Last week, it was their mother who got on a plane, flying out west to watch them perform with the Calgary choral group Revv52.

Kate first joined the group in 2012 after moving to Calgary to pursue a Masters Degree at the University of Calgary.

Mike moved to Fort McMurray in 2014 where he worked as a large engine mechanic before relocating to Calgary last January after seeing his sister perform in Revv52’s “Wall of Sound” production.

“As soon as I saw the show, I said, I should be living here and be part of the choir – so I ended up moving, pretty much on a whim a month and a half later,” Mike recalls.

Mike and Kate first started performing at St. Peter High School as members of the St. Peter Players musical theatre company.

Kate first appeared in the 2004 production of “Les Misérables”. She was also in “Into the Woods” in 2005 and “The Pirates of Penzance” before graduating in 2006.

Mike followed in his sister’s footsteps, making his first appearance with the St. Peter Players in “Beauty and the Beast” in 2009. He then played the man-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2010.

Revv52 is a 50+ member choir that has been around in one incarnation of another since 1952. They started out as the Calgary Choral Society.

The choir’s penchant for tackling songs that don’t necessarily fall under what choral groups traditionally perform, is what originally attracted Kate to the group.

“A lot of our repertoire has never been arranged for a choir before,” she says. “I remember the first year I was in it we did a version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity and you would never expect a choir to do that. It was really cool."

The choir just finished three nights of performances in Calgary during which they performed contemporary pieces by legendary American singer songwriters like Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Carole King.

The program was put together by American music producer Deke Sharon who has arranged for the choir to perform at the world famous Carnegie Hall on March 20 along with 11 other choral groups.

Kate Heney says the group is understandably excited about bringing their western do-wop take on such pop classics as Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time”, Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio (Down by the Schoolyard)”, and Burt Bacharach’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” to the Big Apple.

“I don’t know how well people in New York know Calgary, but we sure hope they come to this performance,” says Kate.

(This story was made possible thanks to their generous support of our local business partners.)

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