75 years of song

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This article was published 09/05/2023 (1236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A previously all-male chorus, which only opened its doors to women five years ago, will belt out Broadway hits and silver-screen tunes this weekend to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

River City Sound, an a cappella group that’s 38 members strong, will present the Diamonds From Stage & Screen concert at Prairie Spirit United Church, featuring songs such as Pretty Woman, Stand by Me and Do You Hear the People Sing.

To add to the celebration, River City Sound has invited award-winning barbershop quartet St. Croix Crossing, whose members hail from Minnesota and Wisconsin, to take part in the show.

Part of the proceeds from this weekend’s two-hour show will be donated to Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services (NEEDS Inc.), a non-profit charitable organization that enrols newcomer children aged six to 12 in classes at NEEDS within three days of arrival in Canada, in preparation to attend regular school.

“The 75th is a milestone we are proud to have reached,” says Gayle Wharton, singer and choreographer for the group.

Previously known as the Golden Chordsmen, the polyphonic group welcomed women to its ranks in 2018. Wharton was one of the first to join. There are currently a dozen female voices in the chorus.

“It was a big pill to swallow for some of the old timers, for sure,” she says. “I was the first one on the doorstep to come to River City Sound. I loved the sound; the combinaton of the men and the women has been a real hit and grown the membership.”

Saturday’s program was devised by the music team comprising representatives from each section of the chorus and led by Les Creek, the music chair. The chorus usually rehearses weekly on Wednesday evenings, adding on a Sunday afternoon rehearsal as the date of their shows approaches. Singers break for six weeks in the summer before coming back to rehearse in autumn.

Members of the chorus are mostly of retirement age. The longest-serving member, 78-year-old Gordon Billows, has been singing with the group for 43 years.

As well as its biannual concerts — one in the spring and one at Christmas — the group also performs at residential homes and senior-living communities.

The twice-yearly concerts are a way for the chorus to raise money toward special causes.

“A very long-running charity (we supported was) St.Amant centre here in Winnipeg,” Wharton says of the organization that aids people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Donations went toward speech-generating devices that translate typed text to speech.

The group also donates to Sing Canada Harmony, a registered charity dedicated to promoting vocal music education in Canada.

“For this concert, we have committed $2,000 to NEEDS. There will be onstage acceptance of this donation during our show,” Wharton says.

The group holds a yearly recruitment drive called Learn to Sing Better, a complete six-week program where interested recruits learn everything there is to know about singing in an a cappella group. The only criteria to joining is the ability to hold a note.

“To join you have to voice test,” Wharton explains. “You have to have an ear for music in a cappella; you have to hold your part against three others. It is very precise. There is no piano to cover you… you have to be dead-on all the time.”

And while movement is a big part of the chorus, dance skills are not a prerequisite.

“It’s all very simple,” Wharton says. “You need to have a sense of rhythm to do it on the correct beat… that’s all you really need, and a voice. And it’s a lot of fun — we are a real fun group.”

Successful recruits will get a chance to join the chorus onstage, either during the spring recital or Christmas concert.

av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.coms

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