Community Choir Celebrates 40 Years

Windsor, Ont. – Erin Armstrong discusses a new piece with members of the community choir during practice on Tuesday, Feb 24, 2015 at St Andrew’s Church. Photo by Kameron Chausse.

 

A chorus of dozens of voices, young and old, filled St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Tuesday night, preparing for a celebration of the choir’s 40th anniversary.

 

The Windsor Community Choir was originally formed within Assumption Church, associated with the University of Windsor. It was founded by professor Norman King as a way for non-music majors to acquire a music credit. Over time the chorus took on a life of its own, evolving into an independent group made up of Windsorites of all ages.

 

“We have one member who has been here thirty-something years and we have a couple members that started almost with the choir from the beginning,” said Roberta Quinlan, president of the Community Choir. “It’s a community choir, it’s non-audition… anybody can join. We’ve had people from all walks of life, all different ages. You don’t need to be able to read music. We have people who can’t read music, people who have studied music and we all help each other out.”

 

The choir’s membership usually numbers between 40 and 50 individuals, with most years seeing an increase in attendance during the Christmas holiday season. This year’s spring group is slightly larger than expected because of the upcoming 40-year anniversary of the program.

 

The program’s choral director, Erin Armstrong, is a trained operatic singer. She said they are eager to expand the program beyond its current scope and open it up to new ventures and experiences. As of now, the choir will compete in this year’s Kiwanis Music Festival on in late April. A few members will sing with The Canadian Tenors when they are in town in March.

 

“A recital is the only thing that we’ve done, so then we’re going to [try] a competition, and I would like to try the opera. I think it would be cool” said Armstrong.“The music they created at our Christmas concert was absolutely stunning… so I think theres a possibility for collaborations and collaborative projects too.”

 

Collaborations are uncommon between different choir groups, but Armstrong said she believes there is a wide range of untapped potential in the region to create great art and performances. She compared it to how baseball and basketball players do not usually collaborate in sports, but still intends to gradually work towards collaborations between various groups across Windsor and Detroit.

 

“… I think that Windsor has a unique advantage being a city that is in such close proximity to Detroit and all of the arts culture that is present [here].” Armstrong said.
The community choir holds practice on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. at St Andrew’s Church and has its own Facebook group. The 40th anniversary celebration concert will be held Saturday April 12, at Glenwood United Church.