Our kind of music is any kind of choral music!  We just love to sing!

The 2009-10 Season has been great so far!  At Christmas we held one concert, and sang at the annual “A Time to Remember” church service.   The concert was held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and we had no guests this year.

We opened our concert with Fanfare for Christmas Day, and at times during rehearsal we despaired of ever being able to hit those high notes and sustain them long enough to please our conductor, Andrew, but we did, and the audience loved it!.

Our repertoire during the first half of the programme included Still, Still, Still a traditional Austrian lullaby sung in German and English.  It was fun learning to pronounce the words and also trying to place the right emphasis until we could think of the translated meaning in our heads. Traditional Christmas songs made up the balance of the first half, with the exception of one, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.  Jesus Christ the Apple Tree is a poem which, it is believed, was written by a New Englander in the 1700s and Elizabeth Poston (1905 - 1987) set the poem into a tender, haunting melody which really depicts the spirit of Christmas.

After the intermission, the meaning of the Dreidel in Festival of Light was explained to us before we sang the song to the audience.  The dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) is associated with Hanukkah.  It has four sides, each engraved with one initial from the Hebrew words:  Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin.  These letters are an acronym for "Nes Gadol Haya Sham" meaning "A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the Beit Hamikdash).  The carol, of course, is all about the "Miracle of Old" and we enjoyed singing it as much as the audience enjoyed listening.

Il Est Ne le Divin Enfant again tested those of us who only speak English to sing in a different language, although in Canada its hard to think of French as foreign!  Pat-a-Pan is a French Christmas carol but adapted into English.  Our Assistant Conductor, Janet Goos, led us in this cheerful, rhythmic song.  We concluded our concert with Shalom, a traditional Hebrew song of peace.

The Time of Remembrance service took place in December too, and was well attended, our choir sang for those facing the hardship of losing a loved one during 2009.  The choice of In The Garden, Wood River and Let There Be Peace on Earth seemed to express the sentiment of trying to come to terms with loss of a loved one.

In January we joined other Maple Ridge choirs and entertainers to raise funds for the Haitian people to assist them in their on-going recovery from the earthquake.

So far it has been a busy year and we still have our May 16th concert to look forward to!

Our Music Director and Conductor since 2006 is Andrew Wilhelm-Boyles.  Andrew likes to present a varied repertoire of sacred and secular music of all kinds, and challenges us to achieve the very best of which we are capable.

A conductor with thirty years’ experience, Andrew has a rich background in both church and community choral activity: he served as music director at Christ Church Cathedral, Whitehorse; St. Paul’s Cathedral, Regina; and St. Agnes’ Anglican Church in North Vancouver; and of the Whitehorse Community Choir; the Riverwood Singers, a Winnipeg women’s chamber choir; and the BC Tel Choir.  Andrew has served as musical director for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and The Pirates of Penzance.  A highlight was his appointment to recruit and conduct the Sing for Canada Chorus of singers from around the Lower Mainland for Canada Day 2006 celebrations at Canada Place.

Andrew’s musical education has included workshops and study sessions with conductors Klaus Tennstedt, Jorge Mester, Leonard Slatkin, Sergiu Commissiona and Pierre Boulez.

In his professional life, Andrew is Executive Director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture, an arts service and advocacy agency serving more than 350 artists and arts organizations throughout the Lower Mainland.

Andrew is delighted to be working with the friendly, keen and committed group of singers who make up the Maple Ridge Choral Society.

The Maple Ridge Choral Society is fortunate to have a very gifted and talented Accompanist, Aimee Oliverio, to play the piano at our practices and concerts.  Aimee is working to achieve her Grade 10 Practical Piano Certificate and Teachers' ARCT Diploma in music from the Royal Conservatory of Music.  She is currently a Grade 12 student at Maple Ridge Secondary School.

Playing the piano for us is giving Aimee a good grounding in the art of accompaniment, which will be an asset in her future career.  In addition to playing for us on Tuesday evenings, Aimee sings in the MRSS Senior Concert Choir, accompanies the Junior Choir and is a member/volunteer pianist for the H.O.P.E. Committee (Helping Other People Everywhere).

Aimee's hobbies consist of painting, drawing, writing, reading and composing music; her day isn't complete without dancing, playing badminton and table tennis.  After high school, Aimee hopes to go on to study music and the fine arts.

Aimee's expertise at the piano is a rich addition to our voices!

The Maple Ridge Choral Society (MRCS) has a Board of Directors conducting the day-to-day business of the Choir. They meet once a month.  Specific responsibilities of the Board Members can be found in the MRCS By-Laws.  Ask our President or Secretary for a copy.  General affairs of the MRCS are conducted at the Annual General Meeting.

Our current membership consists of 50 very talented singers.  We have openings in all sections, specifically in the tenor and bass sections.  Each section has a Section Leader who will keep you posted about events, extra practices and other information.

Four of our tenors are women, so if you are a woman with a deep voice, come and try singing tenor or bass - you may find you like it!

Our Conductor is a professional conductor, which is quite unique for an amateur choir.  Our Accompanist is a very accomplished pianist who is in the process of obtaining her ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.   Both of these talented people are are available to help anyone who needs additional assistance; individual members are always willing to assist too.

The annual cost for membership is $90.00 for adults, $75.00 for seniors and students, with a refundable music deposit of $25.00.

Singers in all harmony sections are welcome, we especially look for tenor and bass singers.  Do you enjoy singing while driving?  Why not use it as a warm-up before coming to choir practice.

Our practices are focused on achieving a high degree of excellence.  We look forward to your voice enhancing our choir and we are sure you will enjoy singing with others who share your passion.

Our Fall session starts on Tuesday, September 07, 2010 with registration and refreshments at 11858 216 Street, Maple Ridge (Haney Presbyterian Church).

Formal practices started on September 15, '10 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the same location, 11858 216 Street, Maple Ridge.

You are invited to participate in two practices to see how you like our Choir before you join as a member.

Feel shy?  Call, Shirley at 604-462-7280 or Jetty at 604-467-3188.  We will be happy to pick you up and introduce you to our members.

Spring Session:

Practices - Starting January 4th, 2011.

The following is an article written by one of the oldest MRCS Choir members, Gloria Morrisette, who turned 100 years on August 31, 2008.  This article was published on December 9, 2005 in the Maple Ridge and Pitt-Meadow Times.

Choral Society Readies Local Concerts by Gloria Morrisette

It is believed the Maple Ridge Choral Society is the oldest one in the district.  The Choir is made up of members of the Maple Ridge Community.  Records show it became active in 1933 by a group of residents who loved to sing choral music.  It was reported in the Gazette of November 2, 1933 that the Choir would hold its first concert on November 8 under the direction of J.P. Nelson in the United Church Hall in Hammond.  The price of admission was only 25 cents.

It was also reported that three guest artists from Vancouver contributed solos to the program.  They were Miss Nan Stewart and Masters Jack Fraser and Glen Nelson.  It was also written:  "the choral society has a very definite place in the life of a community".  Val Patenaude, curator of the Maple Ridge Museum provided the above information.

On December 17, 1948, the Anglican Players of Maple Ridge and the choral society presented a joint program featuring a nativity play, "For Unto Us" with choral music.  Admission was 50 cents.

George Sheldrake was one of the group's first leaders.  He was a talented musician who also led a brass band that we sang with while under his direction.  Mr. Sheldrake was an employee of the Gazette.  We soon had a membership of 100 singers and as we developed and put on concerts, they were well received by our audiences.

One of our earlier leaders was Monrad Malmin, who was also a talented orchestral director.  While singing under his direction, we were accompanied by a large string orchestra.

From the beginning, our aim has always been to give pleasure to our members and audiences by singing a variety of music, including band, classical, spiritual, sacred and folk.  We always put on several concerts a year.  We carried on like that for eight years, but the day came when we were not able to obtain a director so the choir was disbanded for "the time being" much to our disappointment.  The "time being" turned out to be twenty years.

Then, in 1984, the choir was revived under the leadership of Robin Williams, by a group of residents who loved signing choral music.  I was a member of that group and I am the only one of them still with the choral society

Over the many years since then, we have had a variety of leaders, including, Sally Novinger, Terry Pitt-Brooke, Susan James, Jody Dahle, Fiona Blackburn, Joel Scmidt and Carry Tenant.  Today (2005), we have 40 members and our pianist is Marlin Hall, who has been with us for many years.  Our conductor is Judith Bergthorson.

We always found it most invigorating when preparing to sing with other choirs.  New members are always welcome.  We are now preparing for two local 2005 Christmas concerts.  The first will be this Saturday in the St George's Anglican Church, 23500 Dewdney Trunk Road, at 7:30 PM.  The second will be on December 16, 2005 at the Haney Presbyterian Church, 11858 - 216 Street, at 7:30 PM.

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Copyright:  Published with written permission of the author, August 20, 2008