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.

We are on Instagram! Grab the Stairwell Carollers Nametag

View this post on Instagram

Grab your own #instagram #nametag - it's #easy 👍😘🎼 Use it on your #website, #blog or #socialmedia like #qrcodes to bring followers to your profile. #tryingthis #niche

A post shared by The Stairwell Carollers (@stairwell_carollers) on Mar 6, 2020 at 10:22am PST

40 Years of Stairwell Carolling Revealed!

Our Founder and Director, Pierre Massie, started our group in 1977 - where we sang Christmas carols in the stairwells of residences at the University of Ottawa during exam time.  The eight of us would start at the top of the residence stairwell and work our way to the bottom. Students came out from their rooms to listen to the carols and would follow us as we went down from floor to floor, our voices helped out by the echo of the stairwell.  We sang throughout our hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - in malls, for parking lot attendants, and even on buses. We had a great time carolling in the Byward Market and on Sparks street too - lots of amazing memories.

In the early 80's, we were carolling at Bayshore shopping center and Gord Atkinson - then the voice of CFMO radio - heard us. Right then he asked us to sing live on CFMO for their Christmas Exchange Telethon.  It was during this first appearance on radio with Gord that our group got its name. Right before the broadcast, he asked us "what should I call you folks - what's the group's name?" Up till then, we were only ten Christmas Carollers with no name.  Dawn, soprano, piped up with "The Stairwell Carollers" and the name stuck.  Personally, I love our moniker since it harks back to the choir's beginnings - singing in the residence stairwells for fellow U. of Ottawa students.  

In 1986, Gord - with CFMO - produced our first real recording, a fundraising vinyl album in aid of Ronald McDonald House. an initiative which raised over $53,000.

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, CD and cookbook sales.  Since 1997 we have donated over $143,800 to local charities and scholarships.

Twitter, NEW Gloucester Wassail Youtube vid and Christmas Concerts!

Follow The Stairwell Carollers - @StairwellChoir on Twitter!

#Ottawa #Choral #Concerts - The Stairwell Carollers https://t.co/mVuhXSvou0 Dec 14th and 18th, 2019 #Christmas pic.twitter.com/ksmzeOseTo

— The Stairwell Carollers (@StairwellChoir) December 11, 2019

Don't miss our tweets - and those of tenor, David Rain - Choral Composer - @DavidRain56

Countdown: #10 of 10 reasons to come hear our @StairwellChoir concert at Southminster Church, Sat Dec 14 at 7:30pm:

Pierre Massie musical gems like Do You Hear What I Hear?

Tickets only $15 in advance:https://t.co/yTWzGE6rbT

You won't be disappointed!https://t.co/j5mzIRMKzL

— David Rain, Choral Composer (@DavidRain56) December 11, 2019

NEW VIDEO - Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, perform The Gloucester Wassail, arranged by R. Vaughan Williams.

This version of “The Gloucester Wassail” is on our “Mourning Dove” CD.

All our CDs are available on our website in both CD and MP3 formats.

Audio: Tom Barnes.
Recorded at Southminster United Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dec 15th, 2018.
Videographers: Matthieu Brennan, Elisa Torlone
Editing: Pierre Massie

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, CD and cookbook sales.  Since 1997 we have donated over $140,000 to local charities and scholarships.

NEW website for the Stairwell - Xmas Concerts this weekend!

Stairwell Carollers NEW Official website

Q.What is as painful as birthing a baby but took way longer than 8 Months??

A. A new website :P

When the internet was young, my husband and our darling director, Pierre, built our first website from the ground up. He learned the HTML, spent hours, days, weeks in the chair tweaking it. He loaded it with tons of content and photos (very special since the early internet was pretty wonky with managing the images.

Then, FOR YEARS, he kept his baby chugging along.

Then smart phones appeared. Mobile tech needs mobile websites. Nuh uh - ours had the weirdest look on mobile, and it was way beyond Pete to correct it. He was already dealing with frames and java script nightmares.

Basically our website had become a haunted mansion. With strange random pages still existing out in the nether net - if you had the link - and s-l-o-w- l-o-a-d-i-n-g problems.

Well, two awesome things about our facelift is it's NEW - and it's FAST!

Our brand new shiny website, using Wordpress is courtesy of Cypher systems, designed and managed by our director, Pierre (with editing and proofing help by fellow Stairwellers).

Speaking of CONCERTS ------------ coming up this weekend!

 The 2019 Christmas Concert program will feature a number of works by Pierre Massie – including his arrangements of Christmas favourites like “Do you hear what I hear” 
and “Mon beau sapin”, along with his original bilingual song, “The Stairwell Carol.” 
Two world premieres will be presented during the Carollers’ upcoming Christmas season: the beautiful, gently rocking “Mary’s Lullaby” written by alto, Lyndsay Bolden – and the imaginative, tour de force “Christmas is…” by bass, Terry Brynaert.

Both Lyndsay and Terry have been filled with excitement and anticipation watching their new pieces blossom in rehearsal.

David Rain's gorgeous arrangement of the classic German carol “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” is also included in the program.

It’s a rare choir indeed that can boast such an abundance of creative energy. Ottawa residents can hear the results of this choral composer collaboration at the Stairwell Carollers Christmas concert, An a capella Christmas, at Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Ave at Bank St, Saturday December 14th, 7:30pm.

The Carollers are also pleased to be presenting a $2,000 donation to the Cornerstone Housing for Women at this concert.

And, if you’re looking for that perfect Christmas gift, the choir’s CDs will be on sale too. Net proceeds are used to help local organizations - since 1997 the choir has donated over $140,000 to local charities and scholarships.

Tickets are $20 at the door, or $15 in advance at Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street
- ONLINE TICKETS.

Hope to see you there on December 14th!

If you can’t make it to Southminster, you can still hear the Stairwell Carollers on Wednesday December 18th at St. Columba Church, 24 Sandridge Road, 7:30pm
- ONLINE TICKETS
About The Stairwell Carollers:

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

A registered Canadian charity, The Carollers also help local charities with net proceeds from concert, CD and cookbook sales. 

Now Playing on Classic FM in the UK!

Okay, a Christmas treat is coming for our fans in the United Kingdom.

We just received a request to play our Youtube Video of "In the Bleak Midwinter" from the prestigious Classic FM!  If you live in the UK you can download the App HERE.

So honoured to be included in their stellar lineup of Christmas music for 2018!

Here is "In the Bleak Midwinter"  for viewers and listeners not in the U.K.

Stairwell Caroller concerts now On! 

Tickets available online 

About Us:

Our a cappella choir came to be in 1977 while director Pierre Massie was a music student at Ottawa University. Ranked among the best of Ontario choirs,  we won both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

The Stairwell Carollers help local charities with net proceeds from concert, CD and cookbook sales. 
A registered Canadian charity.

John Rutter Youtube Playlist of Stairwell Caroller performances PLUS HOW TO EMBED YOUTUBE VIDS

A thrilling event coming up in the spring besides Stairwell Caroller concerts is John Rutter's visit to Ottawa. Our director, Pierre, has always had a soft spot for Rutter's work - thus, we have been singing Rutter's compositions and arrangements for many years now.

Here is a Youtube playlist I made of some of the pieces the Stairwell Carollers have sung by the British master composer, John Rutter.
Enjoy!

YouTube - like everything has changed. There used to be an option on the playlist page to embed a playlist, but that seems to have disappeared in the change-up. If you found it please tell me in a comment below. They now have a tiny tutorial HERE to embed videos and playlists. I couldn't make it work, so I went to my old embeds to find a simpler path.

Check out the code below, which is sized exactly like our playlist embedded above.

Simply replace OUR ID (in RED) with the ID of YOUR playlist. Copy and paste into your blog or website HTML. You can adjust the size simply by changing the height and width values (another option no longer available on YouTube)

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLrLOtu8KN9cVBbcvJRJOuIwr08vOBYaDp
" width="750"></iframe>

Please comment below - I would love to hear of your success with my work-around.

DONATE to support our 40th year events  All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while a music student at Ottawa University. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked with the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales.

How to take a good group Photo PART 5 - The Devil is in the DPI

Yes, before you tell me..  I used a similar title in our last Choral Cacophony Podcast . But as with all metaphors, it means something different here.

Detail - or the lack of it - as in a low DPI (Dots Per Inch) image can ruin the chance of your photo being used in a publication or, as in our case, our slick and gorgeous Program for our 40th Season.

I thought I knew almost all I could about my Canon Rebel t3i, but our new bass (and graphic arts expert), Terry Brynaert, taught me a thing or two.

In other words, don't be scared to shoot in the RAW.

No, not naked. Behave.

Luckily, I shot our group photos in RAW format, which has the potential for at least 300 DPI - the requirement for professional publishing. My mistake was to convert them with the wrong program which reduced their DPI (or PPI - Pixels Per Inch) automatically to un unusable 72. Terry was adamant that we needed the fine detail for the photos to look good in the Program, which motivated me to dig through my drawer of ignored CDRoms for the CD that came with my camera.

I popped it into my disk drive and crossed my fingers. After all, this is old tech trying to work with new Mac tech.

Computer grumbling...

Woh, it worked! Easy Peasy, thanks Canon!

I now apologize to everyone that I brushed away with one hand while shooting hundreds of shots with the other. Better to shoot a few less images in RAW format with the incredible detail and range of colour and shade that a high DPI can bestow than to waste time on multiple low DPI shots.

Next - The wonders and limits of my iPhone 6 plus for group photography

HOW TO TAKE A GOOD GROUP PHOTO  PART 1   - The Learning Curve
 PART 2  - Roll Call
 PART 3 - Here Comes the Sun
Part 4 - Lights, Camera, Action!

Choral Cacophony Podcast finds a Home! UPDATE

https://anchor.fm/choral-cacophony-podcast

(UPDATE - Nov 2019 - due to cancellation of the free Podiant Community, we have had to now move the podcast to Anchor - thx to PODIANT for supporting us for the past two years. 

We are proud and happy to announce that the terrific Podcast host PODIANT has welcomed The Stairwell Carollers Choral Cacophony Podcast as a part of their community. 

From live rehearsal audio with The Stairwell Carollers, each Podcast is 6 minutes or less. 

For singers who want to improve performance - solo or in chorus. 

Warmups, ear training, rehearsal and challenging vocal gymnastics with Director Pierre Massie are fun and challenging. 

Live and fresh, the Choral Cacophony Podcast will help any vocalist develop their range, enunciation, breath control and vocal quality. 

Sound advice for singers who want to improve their listening, rhythm and pronunciation for songs in multiple languages. 

Practice along with the choir to improve your ear training and vocal technique, phrasing and tempo.

A new episode every Monday.

This means that our little podcast is recognized by PODIANT as a valued community resource with fees waived indefinitely!

For the choir this is  a wonderful thing, since most podcasting hosts charge yearly, if not monthly, fees that we have no budget for.

For me, since the podcast is kind of my baby, it is so gratifying to have this kind of validation and thank you from such a wonderful professional hosting company.

Anyone who wants to start a podcast would be hard pressed to find a better host than PODIANT.

Their interface is attractive, modern and easy to use and the analytics are very cool. It's neat to know how many subscribers, streams and downloads we have had and the interactive world map shows us what countries they are from too.

Every email I have sent while  learning how to use the platform has always been promptly answered by a caring person. And when I put in our application to become a member of the community, they jumped to answer us with a resounding YES in a matter of days.

Thank you PODIANT, from the bottom of our hearts for this gift.

Why Choral Music ? Why Listen? Why Not?

OK, recently we had a blog post from a member of our group expressing the joy and satisfaction she derives from singing in our choir. Choristers, Directors and choral music lovers love, love, love vocal music - a cappella or accompanied - and need no convincing.

Yes, I said a cappella ( unaccompanied vocal music is choral music -- surprise!)

It made me again wonder why choral music is not more popular. Yeah, I'm talking to YOU.

Me? I just clicked on this link by accident. I thought there would be some MUSIC here.

I can't understand those words --  it's not even a song I know.

True dat, but do you really understand what Rihanna is saying in this song?? The whole internet didn't understand -- and that actually helped it go viral.

And, did you somehow  know it before you heard it?? 

Ri...ght, but you guys aren't  Rihanna - or even Drake.

Nope, but there are super famous vocalists who sing our kind of music -- and you aren't listening to them either. (see Pentatonix above)

All right, fine -- I just don't LIKE that CHURCHY stuff - you always sing in a church, so it must be some kind of gimmick for me to join your religion, right?

Uh, actually, churches make unplugged vocals ring - so the main reason is acoustics. Choral groups sing tons of stuff that isn't religious. And even Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" isn't a religious song. If you still haven't listened to the Pentatonix cover I embedded, scroll up!

Um, I just like songs about sex, drugs and rock and roll.

I give up.

Please DONATE to support our 40th year events for everyone! 
All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

How to take a good group photo - Part 3 - Here comes the Sun!

Goats look great in full sun - people just look tired and wrinkly

So you have your choir, you have an outdoor location for the photo shoot, but you are NOT a professional photographer! Whether you are a member of the group or an earnest and interested volunteer, you want to make your chorale look the best you can.

Do some quick test shots while the group is settling and arriving. Always use a tripod and avoid using flash. Fill-in flash can be used, but practise the technique ahead of time to avoid a mutiny. Never try new ideas at the shoot - be prepared!!

Ben and Pete - near -- far. We must have focus!

You should have f-stop and light levels decided before they are ready to pose. This will avoid tiring your subjects - which will show in their expressions.

Once everyone is ready, take at least ten or fifteen exposures of each pose and each f-stop change. Do it fast and keep it light while you do. The only directions you should be giving them is positioning -- so all faces are clearly visible.

Never tell them to smile - make them smile instead.

With so many great photo editing tools available, there are many aspects of the final photo that can be tweaked if you have the time and energy to do it, but my advice is start with the best image possible.

Note how the overcast day at Ottawa's Tulip Festival in 1988 produced a great group picture! Too bad the image file is only 293 kbs - much too small for todays standards.

Shoot at the highest level of JPG or even RAW if you have the photo editing software and storage capacity to handle it! I don't shoot much RAW, since my largest JPG images are good enough to blow up poster size if need be.

 GIMP can handle most RAW formats, and will even out the shadows and highlights because the RAW images have more information in each file. Especially useful in full sun shots, where the shadows and highlights can be harsh.

Some faces in shadow, some faces in full sun - this is the "fixed" shot - still not my favourite

Sometimes converting to Black and White can be a solution

I think lighting is everything -- after composition and location, that is.  Those I will deal with separately in other posts. Don't worry, links will happen once they are all up :P

Bright sunny day

Soft, indirect lighting is best. I love shooting into the sun - in other words, the faces in shade.

You can use a large piece of bristol board with tinfoil covering it (shiny side out) or even a large white card to reflect light onto faces. (Helper needed to hold the card). Don't assume the sun will give a flattering shot; direct sunlight creates harsh shadows - unkind to us older folks (see goats).

Cloudy overcast day

Wow, such luck! The lighting will be diffused and gentle. Make sure to use the highest f-stop you can to make sure that all the faces are in focus.

Shutter speed will be slower, so expect some images will be blurred.

Take more shots instead of nagging them to STOP MOVING SO MUCH! Count to ten and keep clicking.

Smile, laugh, it's all good.
Eventually.

Overcast day shoot -- beautiful light, everyone happy = great pic!

Happy snapping!

HOW TO TAKE A GOOD GROUP PHOTO  PART 1  

HOW TO TAKE A GOOD GROUP PHOTO PART 2 

Please DONATE to support our 40th year events for everyone! 
All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

How to take a good group photo - Part 2 - Roll Call!

With our most recent group photo in the can, the hard work was about to begin. I started by removing excess shadow from a few faces, using a Bloom tool in GIMP to increase brightness in a small controlled area. With the light balanced, I handed the image file over to Pierre to fix it to his liking.

The first thing he did was remove the background with a cloning tool. You can see my poor first attempt near the center of the photo above. Pierre has a better hand at this than I.

Yay, less for me to do.

He then cropped the image to create a panoramic type photo. Then he turned it black and white. This made it much easier to add in photos of members that missed the shoot.

The most time spent was using an edging tool to cut their photos out and layer them into the image then sizing the faces and balancing exposure to match. Pierre's job. Poor him.

A new year and changes! Members come and go, so Pete needed to redo the photo to include everyone.

Yay, more for me to do.

I was now volunteered to take individual photos to be shopped into the group photo.

With a lot of help from Pierre, I brought my camera to choir, set up one light to match the light angle in the photo and with camera on tripod, got all the individual portraits done in a few minutes. Organization!

Once Pete sent me the final image, I added a glow and some contrast to make all the blacks blend together. Done. Finally.

Never. Again.

Please DONATE to make our 40th year special for everyone!

PART 1 HOW TO TAKE A GOOD GROUP PHOTO  - Some basics of group photography

PART 3 - HERE COMES THE SUN -- Taking the group shot outdoors with natural light.

DONATE to support the Stairwell Carollers 40th year community celebrations

Cheers, all you lovers of choral music. My group, The Stairwell Carollers, is coming up to our 40th year this Fall 2017!

Wow! 40 years of entertaining audiences in the National Capital region with our signature brand of a cappella vocals. We have many exciting Choral events for our home town in the works! We can't wait to share how far we have come on this journey.

Our award winning sound, our extensive repertoire and original compositions by Canadian Composers takes us light years from our humble beginnings. Did you know we started as a tiny group of students singing carols in the Ottawa University residence stairwells?

WE can't do this without your help! 

We need $15,000 to get community workshops, Festivals, competitions and special themed concerts off the ground.

Check out our streamlined new Donate page that Pete just created. Faites un don en Français.

Tax Receipt Bonus!!

The Stairwell Carollers are a registered Canadian Charity - all donations are eligible for a charitable receipt!

Here's a 40th teaser playlist that gives you a taste of where we've gone on our 40 year odyssey!

How To Take a Good Group Photo - Part 1 - The learning Curve

How do you photograph a choir group? If you are like us, with a shoestring budget, you depend on volunteers and their varying expertise in photography.

I have an interest in photography, thanks to my Dad's own love of the camera's magical portrait possibilities. 

In a previous post I discussed some of the essentials I've discovered  to successfully create a group image. 

Over the past two seasons, our group grew in number and snapping a decent photo proved to be a real challenge. I took advice from many people (thanks Drew - our other choir photog!) my own collection of books on photography and I Googled "group photo how to" .

With such a large group an overhead shot from a large ladder would have been optimal, but proved impossible with the equipment I had available. The weather outdoors was not good, so the shot would have to be from the front in the church.

With this base line the day came to take the pic, but not everyone could be there. No matter the planning, this always happens, In past group photos, we just shrugged and went with the pic of 90% of the group.

The original photo (including members from 2016 ) was taken inside St. Columba Church back in September 2016. 

We used a small light on the floor behind the group to create an attractive halo of backlight. Room ambient light and a light from above and to the left gave the faces definition. 

Oh, so not done yet! 

To be continued...