A celebration of song
Hymn Sing reunion reunites former choir members
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This article was published 30/08/2018 (2605 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It was a concert and reunion a half century in the making.
Last weekend, over 70 former members of CBC’s Hymn Sing from across Canada reunited for a special 90 minute concert in Winnipeg on Aug. 26 at Bethel Mennonite Church (475 Stanford St.).
“Of all the reunions I have ever been at, this was the most successful and rewarding,” Peter J. Falk, a cast member from 1966 to 1970 and co-chair of the reunion committee, told The Herald. “When I was singing on Sunday, I kept saying to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, we used to do all this by memory!’”
For over 30 years, Hymn Sing was recorded in Winnipeg and broadcast nationally on Sunday evenings. The show featured hymns, spiritual and inspirational music sung by a 16-member choir. Some of the music was written, and arrangements were made, by the director Eric Wild, who left the show in 1978 and was replaced by Winnifred Sim.
Falk moved to Winnipeg in 1965 from Ontario. He auditioned for the new show later that fall and first appeared on the show in January 1966.
“Being Mennonite, music was prominent in our circles,” Falk said. “I enjoyed music but never considered myself a musician. I just enjoyed singing.”
As a result of the show, Falk stayed in Winnipeg, where he practised business law. For the past 40 years, he and his family have lived in East St. Paul.
“I would sing in church choir, but never pursued a kind of professional career like many of the others (from the show),” he said.
Andrew Thomson, a resident of East Kildonan, joined Hymn Sing in 1979 and remained a part of the chorus for over 10 years.
“It was a memorable time,” he said. “We had a huge following. I knew it was important for a lot of people. One of the best moments was when the CBC Air Farce made fun of Hymn Sing. We’d arrived!”
Like Falk, Thomson was also raised in a musical family, albeit an Anglican one, rather than Mennonite.
“My father conducted the church choir where I started to sing, St. George’s Anglican Church,” said Thomson, who also sang with the Winnipeg Singers for 25 years. “My mother was a singer, soprano, who sang in choir.”
Thomson’s mother, Phyllis Thomson, even appeared on the first episode of Hymn Sing and was a member of CBC radio’s The Choristers, while his cousin, Allan Belyea, also performed on the show.
For both men, singing some of the songs at the Hymn Sing reunion brought back a wave of memories.
“The numbers that I sang, that we’d sung before, they were right there,” Thomson said. “I was able to get right back into it.”
“It was emotional,” Falk admitted. “The music itself took on its original powerful meaning. It was so inspiring and spiritual.”
Both men also said the reunion gave them a chance to reconnect with old friends, and make new ones as well.
“Of our group, that initial group, I think we were 12 out of 16 who were part of the reunion, some of whom I hadn’t seen in 45 years,” said Falk, who hosted a social evening for the reunion at his acreage near Birds Hill Park on Aug. 25. “Over the three days, I still had not finished getting to know everybody that I wanted to, you know?”
“The music director who we all worked with, from 1978 to the end, was Winnifred Sim,” Thomson said. “She came, and it was great to see her. We honoured her. We sang one of her pieces, and her daughter conducted it. We did it justice.”
While there are currently no plans in the works for further Hymn Sing reunions, neither Falk nor Thomson ruled it out.
“I hope we’ll have another opportunity to regroup and do something, down the line,” Thomson said.
“There were some discussions about reuniting again,” Falk added.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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