Xara Young Women’s Choir

Xara. It’s an Arabic word meaning “blossoming,” and with its
melodious sound and edgy “x,” it’s the perfect name (and adjective) for
the choir of 24 young women conducted by musical mover and shaker,
Christina Murray.

In 2007, Murray was approached by four
singers who were too old for youth choirs and not interested in the
choirs aimed at “older people.” With the help of the Halifax Camerata
Singers, Xara was formed. The choir, which is made up of women aged 18
to 30, burst on to the Halifax music scene last November with an
amazing concert that combined theatrical presentation and movement with
a challenging repertoire of international music.

“It takes a really long time to design a
show,” explains Murray. “I start with a concept, some kind of basic
narrative and then I do hours and hours of listening, hunting and
researching. I usually find one or two centerpieces—longer works that
are really visual and musically exciting—and then I build the rest of
the program around those.”

The theme of Xara’s next concert is “Sweet
Sleep: Lullabies and Night Music from Around the World.” Using
movement, spoken word, lighting and songs, this show will mark the
passage of time from evening until dawn.

Murray has chosen lullabies in a multitude of
languages including Inuktitut, French, Welsh and Finnish. The show ends
with the vibrancy of dawn and the promise of a new day symbolized by
Imogen Heap’s “Can’t Take it In.”

“Sweet Sleep is a really special show,” says
Murray. “It’s gentle and beautiful and yet it’s so diverse that it’s
also exciting.” Kate Watson

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Xara Choral Theatre’s collaboration with Ami McKay is set during the Halifax Explosion and tells the forgotten stories of women helping women.

This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2009.