Director Pierre Featured in the Ottawa Citizen - and Concert Reviews

Thanks to Lynn Saxberg, Arts editor of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper for the wonderful interview with Pierre which graced the cover of the Arts section on Saturday Dec 3rd!

This assured a successful Christmas concert season for the choir. Both concerts at Southminster United Church and St. Columba Anglican were packed (with a little space considering the pandemic) 

Early reviews of the concerts state unequivocally that the masks did not get in the way of the sound.

What a relief to hear!

Dec 14, 2022 - David Rain 

What a delight it was to hear you guys live last nite, after such a long gap!

So many familiar carols, I found it really tough to resist singing along, having memorized most of the tenor parts of course. 😊

It was really cool to hear you sing Carol of the Bells in Ukrainian, hope that becomes a lasting tradition.

My other favourites were Personent Hodie, En el portel (you guys were rocking!), Un flambeau, Dors ma colombe, and then it is a toss up for me which I liked better, they were both so good: Psallite or the Breton carol, a real winner, that one should come back again too!

The imaginative concert program design was just about the best I’ve seen, Dr Brynaert, I presume?

Keith, your song introductions were brilliant, and there were lots of chuckles in my 

section toward the back.

And Holly, your “cloaking devices” have definitely stood the test of time, and with 

the matching masks, you all looked great on stage.

Speaking of masks, I take mine off to salute you all, having been to 6 choral concerts this year, I have observed how tough it can be to sing just one a cappella piece with masks, but a whole program, that’s a major physical achievement, on its own terms. Plus, you achieved what few others could, a really good articulation of the words, you must have worked long and hard on that.

Again, thank you for a wonderful experience last nite, shared by a couple hundred 

other souls, so glad you got a full house.

Greetings to all!

David

Dec 14, 2022 - MC, Keith Bailey

Thank you for the invitation to MC the Christmas concerts. Such an honour for me; it's greatly appreciated.

I was amazed at the quality of singing (and for almost 90 minutes!) through those damp and muffling masks.  Well done everyone. The repertoire was perfectly chosen for the occasion and locations.

Please convey my congratulations and appreciation to Pierre, the Steering Committee, and the members. 

With my best wishes to you all for Christmas and The New Year,

Keith

Spring 2023 Auditions - Sing with us!

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie created our a cappella choir in 1977 while he was a music student at Ottawa University. With wins in both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions, we are ranked among the best of Ontario choirs. 

A registered Canadian charity, The Carollers also help local charities with net proceeds from concert tickets, CDs, Digital Downloads and Streaming sales.  Since 1997 we have donated over $143,800 to local charities and scholarships.