Choir day draws all ages

The Toronto Diocesan Choir Camp held its second-ever “satellite” program on May 2 at St. Olave, Swansea in Toronto. Forty singers aged 10 to 87 poured into the church at 9 a.m., ready to sing with strangers.

Name tags affixed and coffee and music in hand, participants moved into their respective sections – soprano, alto, tenor and bass. In addition to Holy Trinity, Aurora (where choir camp director Mary Ridgely, ODT, is the director of music), the singers came from across the diocese, representing St. Christopher in Richmond Hill, St. Thomas, Huron Street, Church of the Transfiguration, St. James, Sharon, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Basil Roman Catholic Church, St. Olave’s and more.

The Toronto Diocesan Choir Camp ran for many years at Trafalgar Castle in Whitby as an overnight camp for youth. After the pandemic, Ms. Ridgely began offering intergenerational choir days to promote church choral music to a broader audience.

I wondered how we’d get through the thick packet of music by the end of the day. There was a Magnificat by Mary Catherine Rounsavall, the Howard Goodall arrangement of “The Lord is My Shepherd” (from The Vicar of Dibley), a Spiritual called “Ain’t That Good News” by Moses Hogan, as well as an Anglican chant psalm and two hymns. The plan was to sing everything in a service of thanksgiving at 4 p.m. The pressure was on.

Thankfully, vocal clinician Nicholas Nicholaidis was our expert guide for the day. He started with a thorough warm-up of our “instruments.” He explained how our voice resonates in our body and the process that is required when singing. “Our voice is the only instrument that changes from one day to the next,” he said. “So we need to understand the process for using it.”

Originally from South Africa, Mr. Nicholaidis sings with the Elora Festival Singers and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. With his calm yet infectious enthusiasm, we made it through to the end of the service. United by music, we were no longer strangers.

To inquire about hosting a choir day at your church, contact Mary Ridgely, ODT, at [email protected].