Following a sold-out performance of Bach’s B-minor Mass in November, the Bishop’s University Singers choir will continue to raise the bar with an ambitious program for its upcoming spring show. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the choir will pay tribute to past conductors with some jewels pulled from the archives, and also highlight the 55-member group’s current talents with a combo of classics and interesting new chart toppers. “After the B-minor Mass, you can’t go back to ooh’s and aah’s in the background of pop songs,” explained BU Singers Choir Director Fannie Gaudette. “This is the most challenging show we’ve ever done,” she said. “The Mass changed the work ethic; we want to try and keep some of that momentum,” Gaudette commented. The BU Singers originated with Howard Brown, the BU music department’s first official faculty member, hired in 1957. He started a choir called the Elizabethan Singers, comprised mainly of singers from the local community. Over the years, the choir evolved into a mix of students and community members, and has stayed that way ever since. It did, however, eventually shift from a strictly classical repertoire to include popular music for its spring concerts. In total, there have been four conductors for the choir; Howard Brown held the post for 16 years, followed by Nancy Rahn, who near the end of her 15-year tenure dappled in some musical theatre. Jamie Crooks was the next to take over, and during his 15 years developed the current formula of a classical show in December and a pop show in the spring. “It’s really Jamie who changed the group to what it is now,” said Gaudette, who took over the choir four years ago and now directs, assisted by Melinda Enns. “If I last 15 years, I’ll be really proud. It’s so demanding,” Gaudette said, complementing the hard work of her predecessors. “And the projects keep getting bigger and bigger,” she added. See full story in the Friday, March 30th edition of The Record.
BU Singers hitting 50 years on a high note
