Giving Music a Voice
Our Spring 2026 Concert,
“NICS goes to the PROMS”
… is on Friday April 24 at 7:30 and Saturday April 25 at 2:00
at Saint George’s United Church, 505 6th Street, Courtenay.
Buy tickets online. Or pay cash at the door. $30. $10 for children under 12.
Introduction to the Society
The North Island Choral Society has been producing classical choral music in the Comox Valley since 1984. We produce two concerts per year, near the beginning of December and near the beginning of April. and perform each concert twice. Each concert involves 13 to 14 weeks of rehearsals, extra sectional practices, and choral education workshops. North Island Choral Society rehearses at Comox Valley Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:30. We have an average of 63 singers per season. There is no audition or age restriction to be a singer. The cost per singer per term is approximately $100. We have a volunteer orchestra, and soloists from the Comox Valley and beyond.
We are a BC non profit society with charitable status, which means donations are tax deductible.
Paul Colthorpe – Artistic Director
Paul arrived in the Comox Valley in 1991 with his Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Education (U. Vic.), He has taught secondary school band and choir and elementary classroom music. He is also Director of Music Ministries at Comox United Church. His mantra of “music by and for the community” has served him well. He has been the Artistic Director of the North Island Choral Society since 1995, and is proud of the choir’s many accomplishments and continued growth. In December 2025, Paul received the BC Choral Federation’s Herbert Kent Award in recognition of his many years of musical service.
Elvera Penner – Accompanist
Elvera, an accomplished musician, has been working with soloists, choirs and instrumentalists since leaving high school. She has earned her Associate of the Royal Toronto Conservatory (ARTC) and teaches piano as well as accompanying church community and school choirs. Elvera has been with the North island Choral Society since 1992. NICS would very much like to thank her for THIRTY years of service to the choir.
In 2024 Elvera was presented with the BC Choral Federations’s “Joyce O. Maguire Award” for outstanding, long-term service as a choral accompanist.
She retired as our accompanist after our 2023 Christmas concert, but we thank her for graciously coming out of retirement to support us for the 2026 spring term.
Julie Matthews – Collaborative Pianist
(On leave in 2026)
Somewhat of an enthusiastic keener about most parts of life, when
Julie is not teaching private music lessons, she can be found playing,
composing, arranging, accompanying and recording music, as well
as continuing to take music lessons herself. She has spent time as a
recording artist and studio musician, and she has played and written
for film. When not living and breathing music, she can be found
passionately growing food, fermenting vegetables, making cheese,
quilting, and tending her many beehives.
Board Members
Robert Smith - Chair
Mary Gray - Vice Chair / Treasurer
Joyce Falkowski - Secretary
Ruth Hibberson - Membership
Maureen May - Librarian
Jo-Anne Preston - Publicity
Erika Hannan - Member at Large
Barbara Huhn - Member at Large
