Century of song Winnipeg Boys’ Choir celebrates 100 years By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

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This article was published 15/10/2024 (356 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a scene that has been played out through the seasons — 100 of them to be exact.

Each September, a group of boys ranging in age from six to 21 make their way from all corners of the city to Crescent Fort Rouge United Church for their weekly choir practice, a commitment they undertake for the next eight months.

There, the 54 members of the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir — Canada’s oldest independent boys choir led by artistic director Carolyn Boyes and fellow conductors Albert Bergen and Spencer Duncanson — join in a tradition that began nearly a century ago.

The space may have been different, and the people certainly are, but the desire to express themselves through song, in companionships with other musicians, remains as enduring as ever.

Last Thursday, the current choristers performed for Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville at Government House as part of the choir’s 100th anniversary celebration.

And when youngest member Oakley Guo, 6, took to the stage to sing for the first time with his compatriots, watching him were a number of former choir members who were reminded of their very first time singing in front of an audience.

Choir alumnus Michael Prokipchuk, 20; Scott Armstrong, 57; Frank Caligiuri, 75; William Stewart, 84; Keith Black, 85; and Jim Shepherd, 91, were all members of the choir at various points over the past ten decades.

Shepherd joined as a nine-year-old after being encouraged by one of his Grade 4 teachers at Elmwood School.

“Winnipeg Boys’ Choir was the start of my enjoyment in choir participation, which lasted all through my adult life. I received great musical training in the choir,” Shepherd said.

Stewart, who started singing with the choir in the fall of 1946 as a six-year-old, has fond memories of making his way to practice as a youngster.

Back then, things were very different. Instead of being driven to practice, Stewart, like a number of other choir members of that time, took the Portage Avenue street car to get to the Holy Trinity Church hall the choir used for rehearsals.

“Many families in the middle-class West End didn’t have a car in the ‘40s and into the ‘50s. A parent would accompany us a couple of times to make sure we knew the route and then we were on our own,” he says.

Founded in 1925 by the Men’s Music Club, the choir has been through many changes through the years, but what has remained the same is the dedication of those involved in keeping the tradition of choral singing alive, says Morna-June Morrow, who sits on the choir’s anniversary committee.

“Many people have played a role in creating and nurturing this environment, from the music directors and accompanists to the board members and choir mothers and managers who have worked behind the scenes, to the thousands of parents who have provided support,” says Morrow, a musician and retired music teacher.

Morrow is asking former members and directors who may have items they have kept to submit them to the 100th anniversary committee. She has some items from her time as a guest artist on a program with the choir in the 1970s.

“Unfortunately, many of the archives were lost when someone kept them in their basement because of water damage owing to a flood of some kind,” she says.

Divided into three ensembles — two junior sections, brio and vivo, and a senior section, continuo — boys aged six and above can audition to join.

Many lifelong singers have made their musical start with the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir, says artistic director Boyes.

“There is a short and informal audition where they come to meet the conductors. We check their ability to echo, see if they can focus and we ask them why they love to sing,” Boyes says.

The majority of members have been singing since they began as trebles in the brio section, moving through the divisions as they age.

“We see a lot of boys grow though the ranks; it’s a real gift to witness this. The choir is set up really well to support the boys as their voices naturally change,” Boyes says.

“The age extension to 21 years is a recent change. Previously boys left the choir when they turned 18. When boys leave they are encouraged to join other choirs in the city.”

Boyes is calling on past members to join the alumni choir for the upcoming Christmas concert and the spring concert in May.

“Our Christmas concerts are spectacular and the repertoire pulls from the best of the choral tradition from beautiful current music to traditional seasonal favourites. This Christmas concert in our 100th season will give those who have never seen the choir perform a sense of what we are all about. And once you come to check us out, we hope, like for many, it will become part of your family’s Christmas tradition,” she says.

This year’s Christmas concerts are on Dec. 8 and 10. Tickets are $23 at winnipegboyschoir.ca.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca