TONIGHT! Stairwell Carollers Spring 2025 choral Concert

TONIGHT!

Stairwell Carollers Spring 2025 choral Concert TONIGHT  June 7th! 

St. Barnabas church 70 James Street Ottawa Don't miss us! Tickets on sale online and at the door.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-stairwell-carollers/events/-madrigal/

Our concert this season includes our most challenging repertoire ever. More than half of the songs are new to every one of us! The evening will consist of 23 secular and sacred works from across the ages. As always, we will perform songs in several languages, including German, Latin, Spanish, French, English and Swedish.

The repertoire includes the Kyrie from Rheinberger's Mass in Eb for two choirs, along with other works by well-known Renaissance and Victorian greats such as Morley, di Lasso, Dowland, Encina, Janequin and many more. The music spans many eras and includes contemporary works by Poulenc and Holst. We will also be singing the beautiful theme from the popular TV series, "Outlander".

Bring your friends and enjoy our springtime musical smorgasbord. You won't be disappointed!

To learn more about the Stairwell Carollers, visit: stairwellcarollers.com.

And to hear the Carollers singing, visit our YouTube channel.

Choral Workshop with Gabriel Lewis-O'Conner a Transformative Experience

A week ago, I had the absolute privilege of attending a 3-day workshop with my Ottawa Choir, The Stairwell Carollers, led by the incredibly talented, observant, and kind Gabe Lewis-O'Connor.

To say this experience was transformative would be an understatement.  Not only did our sound change and evolve as a collective in those 3 short (intense) days, but we were provided with so many new tools and ideas to furnish ourselves with moving forward on our individual vocal journeys.

... It was pretty nostalgic seeing some "theatre" exercises called upon, too, after a 5+ year hiatus.  (8-count shake-outs anyone?)  Exploring the parallels between theatrical character and voice work, and the nuances of choral music and various composers was certainly a highlight.

Still such an amazing privilege to be part of his group of diversely talented, enthusiastic, and supportive musicians.  

Please, please, if you are able, ... DO come see our show on June 7th.  

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE ONLINE ONLY

This isn't me flogging ticket sales out of necessity.  This is me wanting to share this music with as many folks as possible, and guaranteeing you that you WILL smile, feel, and leave with a different kind of lightness than what you may or may not have come in with.  

Shayna M (from FaceBook)

A registered Canadian charity, The Stairwell 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.

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. 

The Stairwell Carollers welcomes new singers to the Stairwell for Spring 2025!

For the interest of other choir directors and singers here is the email that our director sent to everyone to welcome them to our new season.

Hello to all of you who are joining the carollers for your first rehearsal. 

By now you've hopefully gotten a chance to go through the document I sent you and have successfully accessed our members' page. Don't forget to log out as per the instructions I sent you, that way it ensures your visit to the page shows up on our tracking list. The log out instructions are in the doc I sent and in the videos included in that pdf.

The first rehearsal can be overwhelming and I wanted to remind you that although preparation is important, we know that learning four songs can seem like a lot. It's pretty much our average number per rehearsal and the only way for us to ensure we're ready by concert time. Musescore can help you get through that preparation but we don't expect perfection.

It's likely you'll feel overwhelmed the first time you sing with us. To help alleviate some of that, I thought you might be interested in some stats about the group...

• With the four of you, the group will have 35 singers.
• Of those, 8 have been singing with me for over 15 years. Myself and Holly started the group. Denyse has been with me for 43 years. Susan is coming up to her 30th. She was the alto at your audition and René is coming up on 21 years. He was the bass.
• 6 others have been with the group between 5 and 15 years
• 13 have been singing 2 or more years
• 4 started last fall so this is their first spring session. They're on a level playing field with the four of you.

This coming Wednesday you have four songs to learn and here are the stats for those...

• A1) My Bonny Lass - 12 of us have sung the piece before
• A2) I Am Not Yours -  11 of us know it
• A4) Cantique de Jean Racine - 14 of us know it although I did change it a bit but not enough to make a diff.
• D2) Laudemus cum armonia - 13 of us know it

I thought it might help to know this so you don't feel left behind by how quickly things move this Wednesday. Take a breath. We are super organized as a choir as you can see. We want to make your first experiences with us as pleasant as possible. 

Seek out your mentors for help. You'll have questions and for the first rehearsals, I allow time for you to ask those questions. 

All the best to you. Know that I'm rooting for you.
P.

Personally, I have a great hopes for this seasons performances because the choir’s sound is already fantastic. I will post a sample soon.

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.

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. 

Ottawa’s Stairwell Carollers Auditioning Tenors for Spring 2025!

You heard that right!

Ottawa’s Premier a cappella chamber chorale, The Stairwell Carollers is looking for that perfect male tenor voice.

Could it be you?

If you live in the Ottawa/Outaouais region and are available to rehearse in person once a week on Wednesday nights, we welcome you to audition Wednesday January 29, 2025. Contact us now to book your 15 minute tryout! 

Sorry, this is not an open audition, you must book your time ahead.

 Email : info(at)stairwellcarollers(dot)com 

To qualify, all you need is a solid voice, a good ear and a great attitude.
Ability to read music is not required, but it is an asset. All music files necessary to learn the songs are provided through our website members page. 

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.

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.