Freewill Offering Concert - Stairwell Carollers - Sat, June 17th 2:30 pm

It all started with a Pub Night conversation with Tobi Dumoulin, one of our newest sopranos. 

Tobi works with the United Church, and was chock full of awesome ideas to help with our choir's 40th fundraising. She convinced me that one of the first things we should do to build audience and community would be a freewill offering concert. I listened raptly to her rapid-fire ideas; Tobi is an idea machine who clearly runs on nothing but her passion for community and her church.

I asked her to see if she could find a church that would sponsor us and she said "of course"

 Yay.

Our thanks to Tobi, and thanks to Stittsville United Church for inviting us to be part of their Sparking Initiative Program!

This is a first for us and we are super excited about it. A freewill offering event to help support our 40th Anniversary events and concerts. Starting this Fall 2017 and continuing into Spring 2018 we are planning workshops, concerts and other special treats to help everyone commemorate this amazing milestone for the Stairwell Carollers.

Thus...

You have ONE LAST CHANCE to see us in concert for the 2017 Spring season. 

 
We are proud to present this afternoon freewill offering concert at Stittsville United Church, Saturday June 17th, at 2:30pm. It will feature a variety of madrigals, masses, motets and modern pieces ranging from the Renaissance to Contemporary.  With sacred and secular repertoire from all eras, this concert has something for all choral music fans and aficionados.  

Highlights are Missa brevis by Lotti - our most viewed sacred work on YouTube,  Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, Lauridsen's Contre qui Rose, Whittacre's Sleep and many more. The repertoire also includes an original work by our director Pierre Massie, "Qui creavit celum".

Pierre founded 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 also sang all over Ottawa - in malls, for parking lot attendants, and even on buses. We had a great time caroling 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.

Beginning in September 2017, The Stairwell Carollers will celebrate our 40th year of song in the National Capital Region. To commemorate this milestone, we have many ideas for events, workshops and activities. Any offering you may decide to give at the freewill concert goes toward helping make these initiatives a reality. 

There are several levels of donations available and some come with perks.  More information is included on our website. HELP US REACH OUR GOAL 
We are looking forward to our final performance of the Spring season, a Free Will Offering Concert, June 17 2017 at Stittsville United church at 2:30 pm

Hope to see you there!!

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