Queer choir Tone Cluster aims to address the realities of bullying with its upcoming concert, which will feature students from two Ottawa high schools.

Tone Cluster previously dedicated a song to Jamie Hubley, who committed suicide in 2011 after being bullied for his sexual orientation, and the choir’s musical director, Kurt Ala-Kantti, says an entire concert focused on bullying is a natural progression for the collective.

Titled Words, the concert will feature selections from Lady Gaga and Oscar Peterson.

The choir performed at Nepean High School earlier this month, and although Ala-Kantti was told the students were “a tough crowd,” the performance, which included students and choir members discussing their experiences with bullying, was well received, he says.

Students from Nepean High School and St Peter’s Catholic High School will join Tone Cluster on stage for Words.

“There will be 125 in the choir,” Ala-Kantti says. “It should be a great, big sound.”

If you’re looking to extend Valentine’s Day into the following weekend, treat your sweetheart to Tone Cluster’s My Darling Valentino.

The queer choir has been serenading Ottawans for close to two decades. President Andrew Sacret says the special Valentine’s show delivers old favourites with a new approach. “It’s a twist on some familiar songs that are done in new ways,” he says.

The concert will include a traditional madrigal, in the form of “Fair Phyllis,” contrasted with an interpretation of the Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Madrigals were the love songs of their day, Sacret says. “They were originally written in the renaissance period. They have a light, airy and dramatic feel.”

For a modern touch, New Zealand composer David Hamilton has written a new song, “Good Times, Bad Times, Always,” specifically for Tone Cluster that will debut this Sunday.

Local sextet Pearls of Wisdom will open the show. Sacret calls this all-female choir's cohesiveness "impressive."

“They combine the melody, the harmony and the rhythm section all using their voices,” he says. “They’ve got some popular music that’s been arranged for their group. It’ll be a real treat.”

Amorous prose by ee cummings and Robert Burns round out the event.

Tone Cluster’s My Darling Valentino

Sun, Feb 17, 3pm

First Baptist Church, 140 Laurier Ave W

$18 advance, $20 door, $12 for students

Tickets available at The Leading Note, Venus Envy, Books on Beechwood and Compact Music.

Queer choir Tone Cluster, which has been adding a touch of harmony to Ottawa's performing arts scene since 1994, will stage a concert called Red on Saturday, Nov 17.

Red is the colour of Remembrance Day poppies and AIDS ribbons, and the concert strives to honour both causes.

"The first half of the concert has worked out to focus on Remembrance Day, and the second half is the World AIDS Day theme, although there is still a theme of remembrance there, too," says Kurt Ala-Kantti, Tone Cluster's music director.

The concert will have a truly international edge, featuring compositions from Tanzania, New Zealand and Scotland in addition to many homegrown arrangements.

Ala-Kantti says there's no better choir to address the AIDS epidemic. "It fits in with our theme and the experiences of many of our choir members. So many people are touched by both topics," he says. "They are intertwined." 

He says concert-goers will experience "a beautiful evening of music."

"It is very moving and upbeat," he says. "There are hopeful pieces to carry home with you afterwards." 

A representative from the AIDS Committee of Ottawa and queer veterans will also speak at the concert.

Tone Cluster: Red

Sat, Nov 17, 8pm

Centretown United Church, 507 Bank St

$18 advance, $20 door 

Advance tickets can be purchased at Venus Envy, Books on Beechwood, Collected Works and The Leading Note.