Sudbury choir goes underground for world record

The Ariadne Women's Chamber Choir of Sudbury, Ont., recently took its act two kilometres underground in a bid to get into the Guinness World Records book.

Ten of the group's 12 membersdonned special coveralls,protective eyeglassesand hard hats and descended with miners into Vale Inco Ltd.'s Creighton Mine in an elevator known as "the cage."

They spent a morning in the mine's SNOLAB, the world's deepest underground laboratory used for advanced physics experiments, performing a variety of pieces including Canadian composer Christine Donkin's Magnificat, and Hodie, from Benjamin Britten's Christmas choral piece A Ceremony of Carols.

The Ariadne choirhopes to set a Guinness World Record for the deepest a cappella performance.

Choir member Christine Kraus came up with the ideaof performing in the SNOLAB.

"I've been working down there and walking around and singing to myself," said Kraus, an assistant professor at Laurentian University's department of physics.

"I always thought it was a really nice big hall, and it would be really cool to get some decent sound in there."

Ariadne has submitted the paperwork to become a Guinness World Record holder.

David Buley, the choir's artistic director, told CBC News thathe expects to hear later this winter whetherthe claim has been approved.