By Pepper Parr
May 11th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
I arrived a little early for the Civic Chorale event that took place at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church Saturday evening.
While I waited for my guests, people, mostly women dressed in black dresses, were arriving with plates in their hands wrapped in Saran wrap.
I couldn’t make the connection between the plates and the music I was expecting to hear.
It was only after listening to truly superb music delivered by a choir led by Gary Fraser, the co-founder of the Burlington Civic Chorale that I realized the plates were filled with treat to be enjoyed after the concert.
There was a little confusion, mostly on my part, as to who I was to pay for the tickets – the people in the church kitchen were so darn polite, assuring me that there wouldn’t be a problem.
Gary Fisher directing the Burlington Civic Chorale
The evening began with Conductor Fraser turning to the audience, instructing us to rise as O’Canada was played. The audience of about 100 people sang the anthem with more gusto than usual.
Opera is an acquired taste that may not be for everybody. But for those who listened Saturday night to Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Dimmi che vuoi seguirmi from La Rondine knew they were listening to a choir that put its heart into every sound they made.
Gary Fraser is fairly described as a very animated conductor. Watching him direct the choir with a full swoop of his arms and then just a flick of a finger to direct an individual was almost as good as the voices we were listening to.
The Burlington Civic Chorale was founded in 1994 by Dr. Gary Fisher and Mary Jane Price. They perform three concerts each year. If you want to know more and think that perhaps singing with the chorale is something you would like to try – their Facebook is out there.
