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.
Having been on Youtube for over 12 years now, the Stairwell Carollers has fought a few battles over copyright. Not the silliest being ones for our Director, Pierre's own original compositions!
Sure enough, we uploaded our video of O vos omnes by Tomas Luis de Victoria from our Spring concert last June. Bam. A copyright notice!
There are scammers everywhere, and YouTube is not by any means free of them. (Imagine trying to get a piece of our already meagre YouTube earnings.)
Of course, I am disputing it. Details to come... (I'm usually successful fighting these fakes)
Here it is!
Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, perform O vos omnes by Tomas Luis de Victoria.
O vos omnes is on our “Cantate Domino” recording. Net proceeds from our music benefits local charities. You can purchase or songs on our website in both CD and MP3 formats. Get our professional recordings here.. https://stairwell-carollers-buy-christmas-carol-cds-music.square.site
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.
Fresh from our first concert since Xmas 2019, here is “ El Grillo” by Josquin des Prez sung by The Stairwell Carollers.
This version of El Grillo is on our “Audite nova” recording. Net proceeds from our music benefits local charities and are available to buy from our website in both CD and MP3 formats. Purchase our professional recordings here... https://stairwell-carollers-buy-christmas-carol-cds-music.square.site/
Visit our blog http://www.stairwellcarollers.blogspo... or our website http://www.stairwellcarollers.com/ for updates.
Recorded at St. Columba Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 4, 2022.
Videographers: Michèle Auger, Drew Mason
Video Editing: Pierre Massie
Audio recording by the master of local choral audio, Tom Barnes.
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.
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.
Upcoming PREMIERE of The Stairwell Carollers FIRST Virtual Choir Video for Spring 2021. This Sunday, April 25th at 10:00 AM on our YouTube Channel. (Hello to all our friends in Europe!)
Come, sirrah Jack, ho! ☺If you like our music, please donate to your local foodbank.❤️
The Stairwell Carollers, perform “ Come sirrah Jack, ho” by Thomas Weelkes.
Come sirrah Jack, ho is on our “Audite nova” CD, available in both CD and MP3 formats. All our recordings benefit charities. http://www.stairwellcarollers.com
Recorded from home, Spring 2021.
Edited using Final Cut Pro X: Pierre Massie
About The Stairwell Carollers: Pierre Massie created our a cappella choir in 1977 while 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.
Christmas 2020 is the first in our 43-year history where we haven’t been able to stage live concerts, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still sing. So, after planning, rehearsing and recording, we are proud to present this mini Virtual Christmas Concert of 6 carols. We hope you will enjoy our renditions of old favourites, some in new settings by our director, along with a few lesser known pieces from our carol archives.
I cannot be more proud of my musical colleagues for forging through the complex logistics of putting these videos together. I thank them for their loyalty to our fans and their fellow choir members, and for their diligence in preparing individual performances to such a demanding degree of musicianship.
I can only conclude that we all share an understanding of how important it is to share the joy of song with the world.
I am joined by my wife Holly and all the members of the Stairwell Carollers in wishing you peace and joy over this most unusual Christmas season. We are confident that we will perform live for you once again soon.
Pierre Massie - director
Enjoy! The Stairwell Carollers present A virtual Xmas concert
Noël 2020 : En 43 ans d’histoire, c’est la première fois où nous ne pouvons pas faire de concerts devant public. Cependant, nous chantons! Rien ne pourrait nous en empêcher.
Nous sommes heureux de vous présenter ce mini concert virtuel de 6 chants de Noël. Planifier, répéter et enregistrer fut un travail d’amour pour nous toutes et tous. Appréciez nos interprétations de vieux classiques que vous connaissez bien. Découvrez les nouveaux arrangements créés par notre directeur. Savourez les chants de Noël moins connus tirés de nos archives.
Je suis très fier de mes collègues de la chorale. Ils et elles ont fait face à une logistique complexe pour la réalisation de ces vidéos. Je les remercie, personnellement et en votre nom, de leur fidélité envers vous, nos fans. Leur esprit d’équipe et leur diligence ont permis de livrer des prestations individuelles d'un niveau musical aussi exigeant. L’impératif de partager la joie du chant avec le Monde nous unit tous et toutes.
Au nom de mon épouse Holly et de tous les membres des Chanteurs Stairwell, j’aimerais vous souhaiter Paix et Joie en cette saison de Noël des plus inhabituelles. Donnons-nous déjà rendez-vous dès la première occasion de nous retrouver tous ensemble. Rien ne remplace l’expérience de vibrer ensemble, baignée dans la sonorité et la résonance des voix humaines.
Au plaisir de vous retrouver tout ouïe, dans un avenir rapproché.
Pierre Massie, Directeur
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Programme
O Little Town of Bethlehem - arr: Traditional, melody by Lewis Redner
Un flambeau Jeanette, Isabelle - arr: Pierre Massie
All and Some - Anon. c. 1450
What Child is This - arr: Pierre Massie (choral premiere)
Ô nuit - Jean-Philippe Rameau
Wassail Song - arr: Pierre Massie
The choir
Sopranos
Annika Ericsson-Kidd
Erin MacAfee
Denyse Mageau
Maggie Park
Andrea Walton
Altos
Christine Jenkins
Helen Lucker
Katherine Marek
Holly Massie
Susan Pullan
Tina Reilly
Elizabeth Turner
Tenors
Alex Deveau
Darren Elford
Sylvain Giguère
Richard Hardy
Pierre Massie
David Rain
Basses
David Ayer
Terry Brynaert
Christoph Hoeller
Andrew Mason
Bruce Pettipas
René Voyer
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.
Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, perform Laudemus cum armonia, an original composition by their director, Pierre Massie. It's the first of what we expect to be a series of virtual choir video creations.
The chorale asks at this difficult time, if you can, to please make a donation to The Ottawa Food Bank. Thanks so much!
In the meantime, You should email us to set up your audition! I'm sure you are either a man who is a bass or tenor, or a woman who is an alto.
(Sorry sopranos, maybe next audition round!)
Farewell, Dear Love, by Robert Jones, sung by the Stairwell Carollers...
Robert Jones was a Renaissance lutenist and composer.
Audio: Tom Barnes. Recorded at St. Barnabas Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 2nd, 2018.
Videographers: Matthieu Brennan, Andrew Mason
Video Editing: Pierre Massie
Surprise! We are an Ottawa choir, with members from all over the Ottawa Region and Outaouais.
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.
Audio: Tom Barnes. Recorded at Southminster United Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dec 15th, 2018.
Videographers: Matthieu Brennan, Elisa Torlone
Video 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 tickets, CD and cookbook sales. Since 1997 we have donated over $143,800 to local charities and scholarships.
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.
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.
10 reasons You Should audition for my a cappella Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers:
Counting down...
Number 10 -
You get to sing original choral compositions by our director, Pierre Massie - like his award-winning song, "Eya, eya gaudeamus", which we'll be singing this spring!
Here is our YouTube live concert performance with guest celebrity bass, Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor.
Altos, tenors and basses, email info@stairwellcarollers.com and book your 15 minute audition today!
Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while he was a music student at Ottawa University. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked among 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 the net proceeds from our concert ticket and CD sales.
Thanks to David Rain and his Facebook "Top Ten to Join the Stairwell Carollers"
K... This is the sweetest thing on the internet right now. Thanks David!
The Monkees sing Riu Riu Chiu.
Thanks to TanjaBarnes channel on Youtube for an early Christmas gift!
And here's our version!
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 among 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 the net proceeds from our concert ticket and CD sales.
The Catholic Culture Podcast is featuring our performance of A Virgin Most Pure in Episode 59 - The Glorious English Carol. Thanks to Thomas V. Mirus for honouring us with this inclusion.
The podcast episode is a wonderful overview of the English Carol with many other carol examples included, such as (from the podcast episode description):
Coventry Carol, Harry Christophers and the Sixteen, available on the CORO record label at https://thesixteenshop.com/
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 among 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.
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.
Sneak Peek!
David Rain's gorgeous arrangement of the classic German carol “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” is included in our 2019 Christmas Concert program.
Here is the premiere performance via our Youtube channel.
Don't miss The Stairwell Carollers Christmas concert, An a capella Christmas, at Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Ave at Bank St, Saturday December 14th, 7:30pm.
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift? Stairwell Caroller CDs will be on sale at every concert. We accept credit cards and debit now too with The Square!
Tickets are $20 at the door, or $15 in advance at Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street
- ONLINE TICKETS.
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.
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.
The Stairwell Carollers are without a doubt one of the world’s most unique choirs, as their director, Pierre Massie, leads the choir while singing within the tenor section.
Pierre is an award-winning composer, and the Carollers regularly perform his original compositions and arrangements. In recent years, he has encouraged choir members to flex their own composer muscles too. The result is – that for the first time this Christmas – the Stairwell Carollers will perform pieces written by a veritable composer quartet from within their very ranks.
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.
The 2019 Christmas program will also feature a number of Pierre Massie gems – 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.”
I also share in the excitement – as my own arrangement of the classic German carol “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” is 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.
David Rain has been taking his cues from the back of Pierre Massie’s head in the tenor section for going on 27 years.
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.
Here is a little teaser of the songs you will hear:
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.
• Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street locations OR
• Books on Beechwood, 35 Beechwood Ave.
($20 at the door)
2019 Spring Choral Concert TEASER PLAYLIST
Full Programme in an upcoming Blog Post
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.
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