With over 500 pieces of music in their collection, The North Bay Choral Society choir can perform with range, treating audiences to songs from mega Broadway shows like Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables to performing theme nights with popular hits from the likes of the Beatles, Elton John and Queen.
The Choral Society traces its roots back to 1956 and typically holds two major concerts a year and performs at local events like the Downtown Christmas Walk in North Bay. While they have gotten back to a regular schedule in recent years, Tenors Jennifer Graff and Kathryn Wood say the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Choral Society to be creative with what they could do while the world was, for the large part, shut down.
"We were preparing for our spring concert in 2020 when everything shut down. We had to figure out how to keep singing. We learned how to use Zoom and made training videos for everyone,” Graff told Lisa Boivin on a recent episode of “To North Bay with Love.”
“Our accompanist, Marilyn Sutherland, learned to use editing software to put our performances together. We shared these virtual concerts on Facebook and sent them to seniors' residences across North America and even to England."
The Choral Society also had to get creative when it came to their financials as they normally raise money through their concerts and by volunteering at bingo nights at Blue Sky Bingo. "We applied for grants and increased our dues a little," Graff said. "This allowed us to keep going and reach a wider audience online. We also entered a couple of virtual festivals and contests. We did one in Ireland called the Cork International Choral Festival. We sent them one of our pieces and we were part of the opening credits of the festival.
Graff says when they eventually returned to live performances in October 2022 it was emotional. "We sang masked, and it was a masked audience, but there were people in tears," Graff recalled. "It was great to be back live."
“There was some nervousness for sure, but we all jumped in with both feet and got right back to doing what we love to do,” says Wood who joined the Choral Society in September of 2019, but took a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Teaching online and doing choir online was too many hours in front of a computer," she said. "But I came back last season as a tenor and have been there ever since."
She adds she’s not the only person to take on choir duties as a hobby since the pandemic.
“The Choral Society's membership has grown significantly since then, from about 20 during COVID to over 50 now,” says Wood. “We've been doing some advertising and encouraging friends to join. The Choral Society is inclusive and doesn't have auditions; it's open to anybody. You don’t have to be able to read music either. I’m not super proficient, some people in the choir are, there’s a broad spectrum of abilities.”
Rehearsals and performances require extensive preparation, as Graff detailed, "There's figuring out what we're going to wear, decorating, setting up sound systems, and moving furniture. We've been fortunate to have help from Browns Moving when setting up our spring concerts, and we also have snacks and decorate the tables. We really go all out to put on a performance."
In addition to the two concerts, they also perform live rehearsals in front of different groups such as the residents at Empire Retirement Residence or the Barclay House and they put those rehearsals to good use.
"Our concerts are about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the number of medleys," Wood explained. “Last spring we memorized two medleys, one from Les Misérables and one from Phantom of the Opera and they were very lengthy, one of them was 15 minutes long. So, it’s a process to memorize some of these pieces.”
Graff says they work with a very proficient Choir Director, Lynda Burch. “She usually chooses the pieces we are going to perform,” says Graff. “We come up with a theme and from there the music is chosen that will fit that theme.”
They also have live musicians that will join them for the concerts in addition to Marilyn Sutherland playing the piano.
“We usually have a bass guitarist, an electric guitarist and an acoustic guitarist as well as a drummer. They’re not all usually playing at the same time, but we usually have about three people playing an instrument to accompany our voices.”
If you love to sing and are looking for an outlet, the North Bay Choral Society could be the group you’ve been looking for. You can visit their website to find out more about where they're singing, what they're singing and how to be involved. Practices will recommence on September 9 at St. Andrew’s United Church.
North Bay Choral Society sings “Imagine” by John Lennon.
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