I come from a family who loved to get together and have sing-a-longs. We would gather at the cottages, my dad with his guitar and all the aunts, uncles and cousins would belt out tunes. We would sing with the radio and got to know all the pop songs of the day. Once, with my cousin, we serenaded all the passersby with Beatles songs hanging out of Grandma’s third floor window.
My first choirs were the church Junior Choir and the grades 7 & 8 school choir. Mr. Hughes directed both choirs and chose the best songs for harmony. It was always so much fun!
I took about 2 years of piano lessons and, like my typing, never got past “26 words per minute”. The liveliest song comes out sounding like a funeral dirge, with me counting up or down to the next note. I tried other instruments, to no good end. I still can’t read music so I learn by listening. Oddly, my daughter can’t carry a tune, but plays a nice clarinet and tenor sax.
In 2014, I moved to the “big city” of Grimsby from a village of 700 residents, after going through my late husband’s dementia, strokes, diabetes and whatever else ailed him. He passed that August and I still miss him. Once here, I was “talked into” joining the choir. I was not sure I was ready for socializing yet, but joined in October anyway. The choir members were friendly and welcoming and helped ease some of the burden of grief. By January of 2015, I was the Membership Convenor (now Membership Director). The choir had done its job of (slowly) pulling me out of my cocoon. I can now say that I attend practices with much less reluctance than I did when I first started. During Covid lockdowns, I started to slide back down. Without the choir commitments, what was there for me to look forward to? Zoom came into play and the
community project. That really took a lot more than I thought I had in me, but I am still learning that I have much more that I am capable of and that I can still give in some small way.
I would like to finish this with a huge thank you to the choir as a whole for being the greatest people. It has been my great pleasure to call you friends.
Hailing from Long Beach, California,
Cynthia and her family have been residents of Grimsby, Ontario for about
20 years. Whether singing in a choir, performing in a musical, playing
violin in an orchestra/percussion in a band during her youth, or
attending concerts with her husband - a favourite pastime, music has
always been a sweet spot in her life.
She has had the pleasure of performing with Chorus Niagara for 9 seasons
- including the Canadian premiere of Sir Paul McCartney's Ecce Cor
Meum and a choral tour in England, participating in the Brott Music
Festival, and joining the Tauranga Civic Choir in New Zealand for part
of their 2022-2023 season - our performance of The Armed Man by Welsh
composer Sir Karl Jenkins brought back great memories of singing this
piece with Chorus Niagara 10 years earlier.
Cynthia is happy to have become a member of the Grimsby Celebration
Choir, sing with a choral group closer to home, and serve as Publicity
Director for this wonderful choir in her community.
Singing, music has always been a part of my life. I come from a musical family, for example, my maternal grandmother played the pump organ and gave lessons. As a young child I too took piano lessons,
playing at many recitals. However, piano skills were also used many a Christmas Eve as extended family gathered around our piano and sang Christmas carols as I played.
As teenager, I began singing in church choir, and have also sung with Sweet Adelines, and the Ladies
Assemble, which would perform with the Dofasco male choir at Christmas. While eaching, I was
involved in many school musicals and choir performances. Teaching music was important to me in my
classroom. My love of music continues today as I sing with the Celebration Choir!
The following quote best sums up for feeling about music, “The true beauty about music is that it connects people.” (Roy Ayers)
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