ABOUT US

• Brief History of Guelph Youth Singers
• Conductor & Artistic Director
• Pianist Accompanist
• Vocal Coaches
• String Accompanists
• Artistic Policy & Role
• Structure

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GUELPH YOUTH SINGERS

Guelph Youth Singers (GYS), now in its 19th season, has become a high profile representative of the City of Guelph in the field of choral music. The organization was founded in 1991 to provide children and youth with an opportunity to experience a professional level of musicianship. The four treble choirs in the organization are: Choir I, a training choir of children aged 6 and up; Choir II, a more advanced training choir of children and youth aged 9 and up; Choir III, a choir for singers who have superior singing and music reading skills, aged 11 and up; and the Chamber Choir, singers aged 14 and up chosen from Choir III who rehearse separately and prepare more challenging repertoire. Drawing from all choirs, a seasonal Boys' Choir was developed in 2005 to compete in the Guelph Kiwanis Festival, to sing a feature piece in the major spring concert, and more generally, to encourage boys to appreciate their special part in the overall choir.

Weekly instruction includes vocal technique, theory and sight singing, and is augmented with workshops by guest clinicians in drama, movement and voice throughout the year. GYS performs up to five major concerts per season as well as workshop, festival, corporate, community and guest performances.

GYS has released two solo CDs: Bird In The Nest (1998) and Wind in Our Sails (2002). The Choir has also performed on CDs with Guelph Chamber Choir (On Christmas Night, 1995); for the Canadian Literacy Association (Notable Canadian Choirs Sing Christmas Carols, 1996); with the Guelph folk ensemble, Tamarack (Blankets of Snow, 1998); and singing the title song on the CD Song of Our City: A Musical Celebration of Guelph.

All four choirs of GYS perform annually in the Guelph Kiwanis Festival, and have won the trophy for the Best Choral Programme annually since 1996. They have also distinguished themselves at both the Provincial and National levels of the Canadian Federation of Music Festivals, winning several provincial awards and two national first prize awards.

Choir III tours regularly throughout Canada and into the northern United States. Past performance highlights include singing for national conventions of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (Quebec City, 1996 and Toronto, 2002) and the American Choral Directors Association (Chicago, 1999). They have performed in Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, Calgary, Syracuse, Vancouver, Coquitlam, and New Glasgow, as guests of various choirs. They have also hosted choirs from southern Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, B.C., Nova Scotia and New York state as well as choirs from Japan and Slovenia. GYS has toured to perform as visiting guest artists to the State University of New York at Potsdam (2000), Albion College in Michigan (2001), Fort Wayne Children's Choir in Indiana (2003) and Farmington Hills, Michigan (2005). In May of 2008, Choir III and Chamber Choir choristers were invited to form part of the honour choir, along with choristers from Bach Children's Chorus, for the "Children in Harmony Festival" at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. As Honour Choir, the combined tour choir had the opportunity to perform for all the other participating choirs of the festival, and in two other public concerts at Disney World.

Plans are underway this season for a SEVEC sponsored exchange with the Whistler Children's Chorus of Whistler, B.C. GYS choristers form life-long friendships and gain invaluable experience from these joint events. Also, in the 2009-2010 season, GYS is excited to take part in the Guelph Chamber Choir's 30th anniversary celebration at the River Run Centre.

Auditions are held in the spring and late summer for entrance into the choir in the following September. Limited audition appointments are also available in November for children and youth who are seeking to enter GYS in the following January. For more information on Guelph Youth Singers, phone 519-821-8574.

CONDUCTOR & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Linda Beaupré

Conductor of GYS since its inception, and founder/director of the Bach Children’s Chorus since 1987, Linda Beaupré is known throughout Canada as a choral clinician, adjudicator and workshop facilitator.  She received her B.Mus. degree in music education from the State University of New York at Potsdam, and a M.Mus. degree in vocal performance from the University of Western Ontario. She has taught music in Australia and Nova Scotia, and for several years was a professional singer with the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

She is co-author of a series of  ear-training and theory workbooks for children, entitled A Young Singer’s Journey—An Integrated Approach to Musical Literacy, which is sold throughout North America through the American publisher, Hinshaw Music.

Ms. Beaupré is a co-winner of the 2006 Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting, awarded by the Ontario Arts Council and Choirs Ontario. In 2002 she received the Women of Distinction Arts and Culture Award from the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph.

PIANO ACCOMPANIST

Ken Gee

Ken Gee studied piano with Edna Smith, Reginald Bedford and Boris Berlin, and performed in many master classes. As a youth, he won scholarships annually in both piano and violin, and was a national piano finalist in the Canadian Music Competition's International Stepping Stone Division. He is an experienced recitalist, concerto soloist, accompanist, and chamber music player.

He has a Music B.A. from McMaster University where he was awarded the McMaster Medal for the Creative and Performing Arts. Ken was music critic for the Hamilton Spectator, manager for chamber music series and Ensemble Sir Ernest MacMillan, co-director of the Hamilton Kiwanis Music Festival, and a teacher at McMaster University, Sheridan College and Mohawk College.

Ken's other life is in Macintosh-based design work and music production. He developed classical piano music software for PG Music Inc., Victoria and makes music and music text books for The Frederick Harris Music Co., Ltd. in Toronto. He also teaches piano privately, accompanies, and coaches chamber music. He is the regular accompanist for GYS, Suzuki String School of Guelph, and Suzuki summer Institutes in Kitchener and Montreal. Ken lives in Guelph with his violinist wife, Paule Barsalou.

VOCAL COACHES

Sue Doran graduated from Wilfred Laurier University with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance. She has also acquired training at the Eastman School of Music, Aldeburgh (England), Geneva (Switzerland) and Chautauqua (New York). A seasoned performer, she has performed as soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia, Orchestra London, the Ottawa Choral Society, St. Lawrence Choir of Montreal, London Fanshawe Choir and the Amadeus Choir. Sue resides in Kitchener.

Soprano Marion Samuel-Stevens is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Voice Performance Program and is building a reputation as both a performer of new music and an oratorio singer. She has performed works with groups including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Guelph Chamber Choir, Toronto Classical Singers and Orpheus Choir.  In 2004 Marion won Symphony Hamilton’s Young Artist Competition and had the pleasure of performing three of Mahler’s “Rückert lieder” with the orchestra.

Marion is an avid supporter of new music and has performed as the soprano soloist in the National Ballet of Canada’s production of David Del Tredici’s “Alice”. She has performed the title in Ronald Beckett’s opera “Ruth” and collaborated with Elora composer Peter Skoggard on “War and Peace” as well as performances of Skoggard’s songs for solo voice.  Marion has also sung with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  This fall Marion will be performing as Belinda in Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneaus” as well as singing her first Bach “Christmas Oratorio.”

Marion is the Music Director of Ebenezer United Church and Artistic Advisor for the Sound and Stone concert series.  She has been a private vocal coach for 4 years and has a rapidly growing studio as well as coaching the Guelph Youth Singers. Her most recent accomplishment was conducting the children’s choir of “Opera By Request’s” production of Hansel und Gretel.

STRING ACCOMPANISTS

The Suzuki String School of Guelph was founded in 1972. It is a non-profit charitable organization with a Board of parent volunteers. The school now has around 160 students ranging from age 3 to 18, and is renowned throughout North America for its high standards in teaching and leadership role in the Suzuki community. Artistic director Paule Barsalou, heads a highly-qualified faculty which teaches violin, viola, cello, orchestra, chamber music and rhythmic reading. The SSSG provides bursaries to families in need of financial assistance.

ARTISTIC POLICY & ROLE

GYS has a strong educational mandate to develop the musical potential of youth from all backgrounds and of various abilities through:

• Theory and sight-singing instruction.
• Exposure to challenging and diverse repertoire from a wide range of composers.
• Exposure to other conductors and choirs.
• Cooperative arrangements with other Ontario and Quebec choirs which allow GYS to host and travel to workshops and performances each season. These workshops and performances expose the singers to the varied talents of several outstanding conductors/clinicians and culminate in a performance which underscores what they have learned in workshops.

STRUCTURE

GYS is a parent run organization, with parents making up the majority of board members and volunteers. Guelph Youth Singers was incorporated June 3, 1992. Charitable registration number: 135120376RR0001.

• The artistic director is responsible for artistic direction, development, and musical education of the choirs.
• The administrator, is responsible for the general management and coordination of daily affairs.
• The volunteer and marketing coordinator is responsible for the recruitment and coordination of our many volunteers as well as overseeing the marketing and corporate fundraising of the organization.
• All staff are accountable to GYS's Board of Directors, reporting to the Board regularly at meetings. They work in accordance with the policies and programmes established by the Board of Directors.

• Made up of eleven members who assume fiscal responsibility for GYS and sit as chairs of various committees.
• Meets monthly to discuss current issues and review budgetary concerns.
• Connects with artistic director, administrator, volunteer and marketing coordinator, and volunteers weekly through email, fax, and phone, as well as at various committee meetings.
• Committee members are:
  • Duane Scott (President)
  • Sharon Buisman (Vice President)
  • Wendy Welch (Secretary)
  • Kim Gould (Treasurer)
  • Grace Annab
  • Teresa Carter
  • Janet Cox
  • Tova Davidson
  • Fran Gallagher-Shuebrook
  • Marina Poulin
  • Elizabeth Renfrew
  • Kerry Wilson

Volunteer Base & Support

• GYS builds its volunteer base from choir members, parents and interested community members.
• Volunteers receive support and direction from the volunteer and marketing coordinator, the artistic director or the administrator. In most cases, all three individuals are involved.
• Our volunteers are shared with other community arts organizations such as the Guelph Spring Festival, and the River Run Centre.