The California Cornish Cousins will have a booth on Mill Street from 9:30-11:00 am at the St. Piran’s Day celebration Saturday, March 7th. Come by and see us! If you’d like to help in the booth, please contact Pete Edwards
The festivities will be followed by a luncheon honoring Eleanor Kenitzer on her retirement as director of the Grass Valley Cornish Carol Choir. Singer Rita Hosking and the Grass Valley Male Voice Choir will headline a luncheon concert Adding her voice to the celebration will be singer-songwriter Anna Anise, who flies in from Cornwall especially for the concert.
Eleanor revived the Christmas choir in 1990 after it had gone quiet in the 1970s and ‘80s. She directed the choir for 36 years and conducted it’s definitive recordings. For 150 years the carol choir, once comprised entirely of miners and their sons, has been the voice of Grass Valley. In the mid-20th century the choir performed across the region and even across the world on NBC, CBS, BBC and Armed Forces radio networks.
The Cornish Carol Choir performs every season and especially at downtown Grass Valley’s Cornish Christmas celebrations. The GV Male Voice Choir, founded by Eleanor in 1997, performs throughout the year under the direction of George Husaruk.
Eleanor brought the carol choir and Grass Valley to prominence when she led the carols on Huell Howser’s “California Gold” television show and on tours to Cornwall, England. Eleanor’s work has prompted a revival of Cornish carols in other communities where the Cornish settled as far away as Australia and even in Cornwall itself.
Mayor Hilary Hodge will recognize Eleanor on behalf of the city, pastys will be served and then the concert will begin. At the end, all past and present members of the Cornish Carol Choir will be invited to join in singing “Diadem” a last time under Eleanor’s direction. The California Cornish Cousins are a sponsor of the event.
Tickets are $15 for lunch and the concert and are available from the Greater Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce. Call (530) 273-4667 to register and choose a meat pasty or a veggie pasty. Order your tickets early to assure a seat.
The St. Piran’s Day motto is “Everyone’s Cornish today!”