Shallaway Youth Choir launches 2025-26 Season with premiere of “Ignite” video

Lightkeepers is more than a season, it is a commitment to carrying light from the past into the future. Shallaway Youth Choir launches its 34th season with a poignant and powerful video premiere.

Against the iconic St. John’s Harbourside Park where urban meets rural, and we are reminded of both our history and our future, Ignite, by Emile Deedes-Vincke, is a choral work that celebrates the power of collective music making.

Artistic Director, Kellie Walsh: “Ignite” is a song that shows how music can shine light into the world. It reflects the essence of the meaningful season we are about to begin. Through its beautiful words, Ignite reveals the power of music to carry light and hope.”

The video is also an homage to Newfoundland and Labrador’s new National War Memorial, which stands as a poignant reminder of courage, commitment, and the enduring impact of war on communities. Key elements, the solemn figure of the woman, the eternal flame, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, symbolize remembrance, resilience, and the collective gratitude of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, a people who deeply values our history and the sacrifices made to build our future.

Shallaway Youth Choir’s 34th season brings this vision to life through music, storytelling, and international performances. From the world premiere of Kyle McDavid’s choral musical, Lightkeepers, honouring the remarkable acts of remembrance by young students in London, to our choral holiday concerts, evoking the timeless acoustics of Christmas past and celebrating inclusion with Lauda’s first stand-alone Christmas show, and onward to performing a world premiere by Leslee Heys on the battlefield of Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 2026, our incredible youth shine a light on history and hope.

View “Ignite” on Shallaway’s Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn accounts, or on YouTube:

For more info, visit www.shallaway.ca