Storied choir to help cash-strapped church

BY WENDY SMITH

A British choir that has garnered accolades for its charity work in conflict-ridden Northern Ireland is making a pit stop in Pointe Claire next week.

Capping a week of performances in Montreal’s storied basilicas, the Warrington Male Voice Choir will sing at St. John’s United Church on the last night of their 2007 Montreal tour.

The tour marks the first time the choir has set foot on Canadian soil since 1993, the year the Irish Republican Army bombed the town of Warrington, killing a three-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old boy, and injuring 56 others. After the bombings, the 90 choristers began touring extensively across Ireland, performing cross-community concerts to break down sectarian divisions.

“We have been too involved with reconciliation activities in Ireland to return before now,” the choir’s chairman, Barrie Johnson, said in an interview last week from England.

One of the most “deeply moving” of those activities, Johnson recalls, was a Christmas performance in Omagh, Northern Ireland, three months after the Real IRA bombed the town centre in 1998, killing 29 people and two unborn babies.

“Many injured victims and families of the bereaved were in the audience and were pleased that we were there with them at such a dark time,” said Johnson.

The late Princess Diana and former U.S. President Bill Clinton are among the public figures who have acknowledged the choristers for their humanitarian work.

So what brings an internationally acclaimed choir accustomed to performing in Great Britain’s grand cathedrals all the way to the West Island?

“The meal was a big draw,” St. John’s United member Fiona Wardrop jokingly remarked of her proposal to cook a traditional Canadian ham dinner for the 55 choristers and their wives (118 mouths in total.)

When Wardrop, whose friend’s father performs with the choir, heard they were planning a Canadian tour, the Pointe Claire resident suggested her church as a potential venue.

“St. John’s United is a very musical church – we have three choirs,” said Wardrop, adding that the church, which shares space with St. Edward the Confessor, is perpetually strapped for funds. “These days, churches need all the help they can get. And they do a lot of good for the community. If there’s no church, the community will lose out.”

With one hundred percent of the proceeds from the concert going directly to St. John’s United, Wardrop is hoping the church will finally get that new roof it so desperately needs.

Citing the large number of West Islanders of British origin as another factor in the choir’s decision to perform in Pointe Claire, Johnson said he’s looking forward to a special welcome from expats and non-expats alike. “Male choral music and brass bands are very strong elements of British culture and seem to be popular throughout the world,” he said. “We feel sure that the quality of our singing will be appreciated, and the great fellowship we share will be infectious.”

The Warrington Male Voice Choir will perform Wednesday, May 30, at 7:30 p.m., at St. John’s United Church / St. Edward the Confessor Mission, 98 Aurora, in Pointe Claire. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($15) or in advance ($12) by calling 514-697-6459 or 514-426-7137.