Bringing music home
We serve our communities by sharing our passion for choral music
Sharing our voices
Our performances include community service work where we share our music with those in hospitals, chronic care facilities, early Alzheimer residences and nursing homes – people normally unable to attend or afford the cost of attending formal concerts.
A Strong Commitment
Community service has been a cornerstone of the choir’s mandate since its inception in 1994. We share quality, diverse programmes with those unable to attend regular public concerts. Our audiences, whether patients at the Renal Christmas Party at Sunnybrook Hospital, children at Sick Kids’ Hospital, early Alzheimer residents in special facilities, seniors in long-term care residences, or mental health clients at Etobicoke General Hospital respond to music with joy and laughter. It is a privilege to listen to the reminiscences of veterans at Sunnybrook Hospital, to experience the joy of audience members dancing as we sing at Castleview-Wychwood Towers, to have our audience members at the Westbury Chronic Care Facility singing along with us.
Sometimes our audiences surprise us
When we performed Soundscapes of Toronto in the community, some choristers were concerned that the African singing and drumming would not engage audience members living in seniors’ residences. Instead, our performances solicited comments like: “I haven’t heard music like that since I lived in Ghana. It brings it all back like it was yesterday….” One gentleman at St. Anne’s Seniors’ Residence told us of his memory of singing, “In the bleak midwinter” as a soloist back in Britain. He told us he would give anything to hear it again, and tears came to his eyes as we sang the same arrangement he had sung in his youth. More than once, an otherwise non-verbal patient has sung along with us, remembering all the verses of a complex song. The first time we experienced this, a nurse told us that no one on staff thought the gentleman was able to use his voice, although he had been in the hospital for six months.
Mentorship is part of our mission
The Choristers also recognize the importance of young voices having the opportunity to sing in a proper performance hall, with passionate amateur and professional singers and instrumentalists.
UCC upholds this ongoing commitment to mentor young singers by participating in school music workshops and by regularly inviting a children’s choir to perform at concerts in both official languages. This has led to joint projects with numerous school choirs including the Institute for Child Study, Davisville Public School, Montrose Public School, Swansea Public School, Maurice Cody Public School, Allenby Public School, and École secondaire catholique Saint-Frère-André.
Every community concert brings a little surprise. It is always a privilege to listen to the reminiscences of veterans; or witness spontaneous dancing and shouts of joy, or sometimes just quiet tears.
Our community concerts take place in:
Hospitals: Sunnybrook Hospital, Etobicoke General Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children
Chronic care facilities/Early Alzheimer residences: Providence Health Care, The Westbury, Ewart Angus Home, Cedarvale
Seniors Residences: Castleview-Wychwood Towers, Fudger House, Nesbitt Residence, MOMIJI, Kensington Gardens, St. Anne’s
Churches: Northwest Unitarian Fellowship, Holy Name Church, South Peel Unitarian Church, Hamilton Unitarian Congregation, Bloor Street United, St. John’s United Church
Schools: Institute for Child Study, Davisville P.S, Palmerston P.S., Allenby P.S, Swansea P.S., Maurice Cody P.S., Montrose P.S.
If you would like the choir to visit a community venue, please contact us.
If you are looking to make connections with others who share your love of singing, want to develop your skills in a supportive, welcoming environment, or are looking for ways to serve your community by sharing your passion for choral music, then consider joining us.
