The University of Waterloo Choir's concert, called Mostly Canadian, will be held at Westminster United Church, at 543 Beechwood Dr., tonight at 8 p.m. Choir director Gordon Burnett, left, will lead the group, including Nicolas Gagne and Maria Bissig.

One thing concert-goers at the University of Waterloo Choir's Canadian-themed show tonight can expect is to have a lot of fun.

"As Canadians, I think we suffer enough through winter -- it's kind of nice to choose the summer as a time to celebrate Canada and what a wonderful wealth of talent we have," said choir member Nicolas Gagne, 22.

Called Mostly Canadian, the concert will include a variety of songs, which, for the most part, were composed by Canadians. Some African pieces and an Argentinian mass also have been added to the program for colour.

The UW Choir is made up of students, university staff and faculty, and members of the community. It runs three semesters a year -- fall, winter and summer, the latter of which draws the smallest crowd with about 50-60 choir members.

The group has performed a range of material, including such larger works as Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem.

This summer's program, in contrast, explores a number of shorter pieces.

One of the themes Gordon Burnett, the choir's director, will talk to concert-goers about tonight is the notion of music and community, and how people come together through music.

"Typically our concerts are a little more formal," he said. "The music is very accessible in this program -- it's fun, fun, fun to sing."

Burnett has always been interested in Canadian music, so, after three heavy seasons, he decided to mix it up and go with a Canadian theme.

"I think as students at university, it's great to have the chance to sing the big works, but it's nice to know what else is going on," said Burnett of the choir, which meets in the Conrad Grebel Chapel on Tuesday nights.

The focus will turn to Canadian folk music in the second half of the show, when We Rise Again by the Rankin Family and the French-Canadian classic Un Canadien Errant will be performed.

"Our folk section, especially, is going to get into your bones," said Gagne, a fourth-year French and Spanish student at UW.

"There are some really infectious melodies and I think it's really going to be a good time, even for some younger kids."

A new piece -- titled the Isle and the Sea -- by Paul Lacalamita, the principal of St. David Catholic secondary school, is one of choir member Maria Bissig's favourite songs in the show.

"I love how it's sort of a Celtic feel and I love going to the ocean and the sea," said Bissig, 20. "It's a great visual song."

Her fiancÈ, Gagne, a choir member for four years, can't say enough good things about Burnett, who has been conducting the group for almost a decade.

"Certainly we've tackled some challenging pieces ... and each time Gord has been able to keep the choir very motivated and positive and focused," he said.

With Mostly Canadian, Gagne enjoys the diversity of music -- from soft to upbeat -- in the program.

"I think it will be very refreshing to sit and listen to it just because the feel shifts so often," he said.

The concert is on July 23 at 8 p.m. at Westminster United Church, at 543 Beechwood Dr., between Erb Street and Fischer-Hallman Road, in Waterloo.

Tickets, which cost $10 or $8 for students and seniors, can be purchased at the door.

For more information on the show or choir, contact Claudia VanDecker at 519-885-0220.