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Menno Singers, a non-professional community choir located in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, gave its first performance in December 1955. Abner Martin, Harold Good, Doris Moyer and Edith Shantz founded the choir. All of them had participated in a Goshen College (Indiana) student touring chorus, and desired a similar choral opportunity in the Waterloo County area. They were also Rockway Mennonite School graduates who wanted to continue to sing classical choral music. Although it began as a Mennonite group, over time non-Mennonite choristers have also participated in Menno Singers.
David Hunsburger photo. Mennonite Archives of Ontario
In its early years, the choir followed the pattern of Mennonite college choirs from the United States, and sang only a cappella music, in English, and raised money only through free-will offerings. Finally, in 1962 it hired an orchestra, charged admission for the first time, and sang a two-hour setting of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin. This marked a significant change in the aspirations of the Menno Singers.
Menno Singers established an association with Conrad Grebel College in 1974; this extended into the 1980s. In 1975 Menno Singers began to apply for grants to support its programming, initially from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, and later from other foundations. It has produced three recordings – Rachmaninoff’s Vespers in 1992, See Amid the Winter’s Snow in 2000, and Cloths of Heaven in 2009.
Mennonite Mass Choir, sponsored by Menno Singers, began in 1974, and provided opportunities for amateur singers to perform major choral works with professional soloists and orchestra. While participants were not auditioned, they needed to be able to read music and attend regular regional rehearsals. Initially held annually, mass choir events became more occasional in the 2000s. Menno Singers established an Abner Martin Music Scholarship after Martin’s retirement as director. The first award was made in 1981. The annual scholarship has been given to deserving Mennonite music students.
In 1997 Menno Singers experienced a difficult period when the newly-appointed director, Wayne Gilpin, lost the confidence of the Menno Singers executive committee over differences in philosophy and spending. Gilpin was dismissed just prior to Christmas, and the dispute received much coverage in the local press. Fortunately, Peter Nikiforuk was then appointed as director and served the next 20 years.
In the 2000s Menno Singers cooperated closely with the Inter-Mennonite Children’s Choir (founded in 1965 by Helen Martens at Conrad Grebel College) and the Menno Youth Singers (founded in 2004 by Judith Bean). Together these groups became known as the Menno Singers family of choirs.
Bibliography
Bibliography D’Amato, Luisa. “Nikiforuk ends long career with Menno Singers.” Waterloo Region Record. 12 May 2017. Web. 17 November 2017. https://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/7311252-nikiforuk-ends-long-career-with-menno-singers/.
Erb, Betti Burkholder. Menno Singers : celebrating 50 years of song. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2004.
Finch-Durichen, Pauline. “Both sides still feeling effect of choral dispute.” The Record (February 23, 1998): B7.
Finch-Durichen, Pauline. “Choir’s Messiah preparation marred by dispute.” The Record (December 9, 1997): A1.
Martin, Abner. “’An ample opportunity to try something new’: a musical reflection.” Canadian Mennonite 19, no. 24 (9 December 2015). Web. 17 November 2017. http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/%E2%80%98-ample-opportunity-try-something-new%E2%80%99.
“Menno Singers fonds.” Mennonite Archives of Ontario. 2016. Web. 17 November 2017. https://uwaterloo.ca/mennonite-archives-ontario/mennonite-organizations-and-institutions/menno-singers.
“Our history.” Menno Singers. 2017. Web. 17 November 2017. http://mennosingers.com/about-menno-singers/our-history/.
Additional Information
Mailing Address: 76 Stirling Ave. North, Kitchener, ON N2H 3G7
Phone:
Website: Menno Singers
Artistic Directors of Menno Singers
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Abner Martin | 1955-1969 1973-1979 |
| Jan Overduin | 1969-1973 1979-1984 |
| William Janzen | 1984-1987 1988-1995 |
| Leonard Enns (Interim) | 1987-1988 |
| Robert Shuh (Interim) | 1995-1997 |
| Wayne Gilpin | 1997 |
| Peter Nikiforuk | 1998-2017 |
| Brandon Leis | 2017-present |
| Author(s) | Sam Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Sam. "Menno Singers (Choral group)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2017. Web. 20 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Menno_Singers_(Choral_group)&oldid=156189.
APA style
Steiner, Sam. (December 2017). Menno Singers (Choral group). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Menno_Singers_(Choral_group)&oldid=156189.
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