Celebrating 25 Years: The Joy of Singing in the Westben Chorus with Karen Mac Ginnis
I grew up loving to sing. WW2 had just finished, our dad was home, and my mom , sisters, and I would whistle and sing as we washed dishes, fed chickens, and picked raspberries. Although there was no money for lessons, we had an old upright piano where we could pick out familiar war songs or old folk ballads. The only sheet music was a battered United Church hymn book. In my teens, my sisters and I would harmonize to Ricky Nelson and the Everly brothers. In my early twenties, I bought a guitar and had fun singing Joan Baez songs later adding music by Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. As a mother, I continued to sing to my kids, and later my grandkids, but never joined a choir until I came to Campbellford.
When I retired from teaching and my husband Patrick and I moved to Campbellford in 2004, we already knew about Brian Finley and Donna Bennett , amazed by their magic with singers from the community in “The Sound of Music” and “Jesus Christ Superstar “at St. John’s church. My daughter’s prospective in-laws lived just down the road in Warkworth and were involved in some of the production. So, a few years after coming to Campbellford, when some new singing friends suggested I join the chorus, I auditioned, nervously singing “Both Sides Now”. Although Brian Finley was a little sceptical of my ability, I was accepted and found out much to my horror that my first task as a novice alto was to sing Bach’s Magnificat! Gail, a helpful chorus member, made me a cassette tape with her playing our part on the piano. That was fifteen plus years ago and I’ve been singing with the chorus ever since and volunteering with my husband Patrick for Westben. We’ve become part of the Westben “family” as its called.
Westben is a cheerleader for inclusivity, creativity, and excellence. The chorus has been an important part of its twenty-five-year history, performing in concerts, plays, an original opera and creating new music side-by-side with Brian Finley and Donna Bennett. Its Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass (SATB) structure allows it to sing classical music as well as original and popular genres. I’ll proudly celebrate that when we look back at past performances this coming June.
It's April as I write this, and in a few days the Westben chorus will perform Karl Jenkins’ “Adiemus.” It’s a very different piece of music, a little tricky…especially the “words” which are Latin-like but are a collection and repetition of sounds which match the rhythms and thematic intent of the composer. The harmonies are beautiful, and it gives me joy to sing it with forty-five other choristers, all of us different but all sharing this wonderful experience. Yes, sometimes singing is hard work mentally and even physically, but we laugh a lot! Our one and a half hours a week is a joy-filled antidote to the darkness of our world.
