Peterborough Singers Accompanist Steps Down After 25 Years of Music

Gael Morrison, accompanist with Peterborough Singers for 25 years, has stepped down from her position, announced on Monday in the Peterborough Singers newsletter.

Gael Morrison and her husband Ev. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Singers.

Following her training at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, Morrison worked with the Peterborough Pop Ensemble, the Peterborough Children’s Chorus and the Cambridge St. United Church Voices of Victory.

Morrison made the drive from Lindsay to Peterborough every week to accompany the Peterborough Singers.

“It made me a better accompanist, since it requires a totally different skill from playing on your own. You need a certain quality and standard to do those big works. And certainly I’ve met some wonderful, interesting people — the music and the people are the highlights,” she said.

While Morrison says she already misses being a part of the Peterborough Singers, she is enjoying having more time for kayaking and hiking.

“A good choir accompanist is the choral conductor’s most important ally in the rehearsal room, and for me, Gael was that person,” said artistic director Syd Birrell. “She is a very fine pianist, an excellent sight reader, a true professional, and she played an integral role in establishing the high standards of the Peterborough Singers, helping build the choir in our early years and beyond.”

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Peterborough Singers Prepare to Deck the Halls with Yuletide Cheer Concert

Peterborough Singers have announced that their annual Yuletide Cheer concert will take place on Nov. 27.

Yuletide Cheer Concert 2016. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Singers.

Hosted at Emmanuel United Church, George St.N, Concert go-ers will hear seasonal repertoire, including instrumental music from the brass ensemble Venabrass, and the Peterborough Singers premiere performance of ‘To be continued …’, a commissioned piece by Len Ballantine.

The concert will be approximately 75 minutes long and will not include an intermission.

All tickets must be purchased online.

All audience members are required to wear a mask at all times and must be fully vaccinated. Choir members will also be masked.

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Peterborough Arts Alive Fund Awards $104,500 to 15 Local Arts Organizations

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced that the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund has received $104,500 in COVID-19 Strategic Recovery & Resilience Grants to 15 local arts organizations on Wednesday.

Photo Courtesy of Peterborough Arts Alive Fund.

Organizations receiving grants include the 4th Line Theatre, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, Market Hall Performing Arts Centre and The Peterborough Singers Choir.

Grants awarded range between $2,500 - $10,000 and support projects in artistic creation and development, PPE and public health upgrades, management and staff training/coaching/expert consulting, technology and digital upgrades, marketing and communications development and staffing.

Applications were reviewed and evaluated by a five-member peer assessment jury who recommended the grant amounts.

The initial idea came from local arts supporter Deborah Berrill. She leads a group of private donors who, along with EC3 and the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, collaborated on the efforts that raised $104,500 for the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund.

The City of Peterborough donated $40,000 to the fund.

“Local artists and arts organizations provide Peterborough with an amazing cultural life, one that we appreciated even more during the pandemic as their work lifted our spirits, offered us meaning and brought us together,” said Berrill. “It’s so important that we continue to support them through this difficult period and into the future, so they can keep doing what they do best.”

To view a full list of grant recipients, click here.

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