Derby Manor

Here we are just before Christmas and as the year winds down to a close, it's a good time to reflect on what the Choir has accomplished in 2024. Several new members joined us and we're very grateful for the voices they bring to our sound. Our summer picnic in Settlers Park brought out quite a number of us and it was nice to see each other in a different setting from rehearsals and performances. We sang beautifully (even though Stephanie's keyboard started complaining). We joined once again in the Seniors Singing Jamboree with five other choirs at Edmonds Community Centre, and came away with some new song ideas. We also performed at Meeting of the Melodies at Glen Pine Pavilion - indoors this year, as it was decidedly inclement outside! We kicked off Seniors Week in June with a concert after the Seniors Breakfast - lots of fun. We joined up with the Wesbrooke Glee Club in March and had a great time singing a whole show of Broadway hits. There's a video here. We sounded wonderful together! Sadly, we lost one of our choir members, Linda Tarantino, in the spring. We had the great honour of singing at her Celebration of Life. We moved rehearsals back to the Gathering Place now that construction outside is not quite so noisy. It'gs great to be back in a place with lovely acoustics amd lots of room! Our Christmas repertoire has expanded with several new songs as well as new arrangements of familiar ones. Our audiences love the upbeat selections we sing for them! We entertained at a number of seniors' residences over the season and we sang everything from traditional to Elvis, to the delight of our audiences. The thing that has struck me most about Silver Chord this year is the enthusiasm and the wonderful changes in our sound and energy. I  joined the choir as your accompanist in 2017 (wow, so long ago!) and have enjoyed every minute I've spent with you all. 2025, here we come!  

We've begun work on our Christmas repertoire. We’ve had many requests for new music and for some challenges, so Nigel, our conductor and myself (Stephanie, your accompanist) have obliged with no less than eight new Christmas songs. They range from familiar tunes not often heard to some unique and beautiful ones. Did you know there are three tunes to O Little Town of Bethlehem? How about an Elvis tune? Maybe a bit of Gordon Lightfoot? Are you intrigued? Would you like to sing with us? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to learn more and visit our Contact us page to sign up.

Well, our 2024/2025 season is off to a great start. We have quite a few new members, for which we’re always very thankful, and they bring lots of musical talent to the choir. Our Silver Chord sound is always amazing in the Gathering Place and the great acoustics work wonders for our enthusiasm and energy.

Learning new music is always fun and interesting. We had a look at three new ones in the middle of September and we’ll tackle a few more for Christmas in the coming weeks.

I (Stephanie) subscribe to a website called Choir Warmups. They’ve recently made all their warmup exercises free to download. Most are original and all are fun. Check it out! (The link opens in a new tab so you won’t lose your place here.)

We’ll be meeting in our favourite rehearsal venue again in September! The reconstruction of Leigh Square continues, but the work is quieter and the actual construction activities are more contained. The piano will be tuned and overhauled, so we can get back to making beautiful music in beautiful surroundings once again. See you there!