Search for Voices featured in Manor Park Chronicle

Many many thanks to Wes Smiderle for the beautiful article in the May/June edition of the Manor Park Chronicle. He got us the entire page!

I'm sure this will be a lot of help in our search for male voices to top up the choir for the coming Christmas season.

Check us out on page 40 in the May/June Manor Park Chronicle

Excerpts:

"The music ascends to the rafters, the choral voices surging from moments of delicate precision to a rousing, victorious force. Whether it's a medieval carol, or a wry French chanson from the Renaissance, or more modern music, the Stairwell Carollers know their way around a song."

"In the 1990's The Stairwell Carollers recorded an album which helped raise over $50,000 (- For Ottawa Ronald McDonald House - more in-depth history HERE), which sparked their philanthropic goals."

"Now, as the Carollers plan for concerts in their 45th year, Pierre is focused on recruiting more voices, a move that will expand the choir's vocal toolbox and allow the group to tackle a more diverse range of music.

Thanks to Cheryl, soprano, for asking Wes to cover the choir for his excellent local paper. Thanks to Doug Banks for spending so much time with us at rehearsal to get the perfect shots for the article.

We're looking for a few good Men!

The Stairwell Carollers are seeking tenors and basses to join our safe, fully vaccinated choral ensemble. A solid voice, a good ear, a great attitude, and proof of vaccination are all candidates need to qualify. Reading music is an asset but not a necessity.

Auditions for tenors and basses continue till August 2022 or until positions are filled. Auditions are held via zoom, Skype or Facetime. During the audition, the candidate must have access to software to read PDFs and play MP3 files.

Contact Holly at info@stairwellcarollers.com to set up your audition time.

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.

Stairwell Carollers Ottawa Choral Concert this Saturday June 4th 8:00pm

Alle psallite cum luya, loosely translated as ' let us sing together, alleluia!' is more than just the name of one of the pieces we sing this season. In fact, it seems to encapsulate how we feel these days for several reasons.  RESERVE TICKETS HERE

To begin with, this is our first live musical offering for the public after two years of pandemic-induces silence - so for that alone, let us sing together, alleluia! 

 Second, during the late 13th and 14th century when this motet was composed, the first bubonic plague was starting to ravage Europe, sowing death and stoking fear and panic. 

Yet, one anonymous monk, shivering in his cloister, found the means of offering defiant praise against the specter of a frightening new world with a musical call to arms: Let us sing together, alleluia! 

The fact that his melody and words have survived 800 years into our century so that we might sing it during our own trying time: alleluia! 

Finally, having made it through the Covid-19 epidemic, the Stairwell Carollers have persevered, but in reduced numbers of male singers along the way. Moving forward, we need to build up our membership in order to sing at our optimum best. 

My challenge to any musically oriented guys reading this message: heed the call of the anonymous thirteenth century monk and join us: let us sing together, alleluia!

Director, Pierre Massie (thanks to Terry B. for the wonderful words)

We're looking for a few good Men!

The Stairwell Carollers are seeking tenors and basses to join our safe, fully vaccinated choral ensemble. A solid voice, a good ear, a great attitude, and proof of vaccination are all candidates need to qualify. Reading music is an asset but not a necessity.

Auditions for tenors and basses continue till August 2022 or until positions are filled. Auditions are held via zoom, Skype or Facetime. During the audition, the candidate must have access to software to read PDFs and play MP3 files.

Contact Holly at info@stairwellcarollers.com to set up your audition time.

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.

Stairwell Carollers singers featured in Vistas Article

Stairwell Carollers in rehearsal - photo credit, Katherine Marek

In a new article that just dropped in Vistas - the local Alta Vista newspaper - two Stairwellers, one new and one long time member, speak about singing and performing with a choir through and despite the pandemic. 

Veteran journalist, Courtney Tower, spent hours interviewing Maggie,  Anita, myself and Director, Pete, in preparation to writing the article. He co-created the piece with a Ridgemont journalism student, Skyler Josephson.

Here is a link to the entire online paper - Paper copies may still available locally.

Auditions still ongoing until August 2022 - we are especially searching for tenor and bass voices.

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.