A Sanity-Saver: Singing Through a Pandemic
Tales from Two New Choristers
Illustration by: By Anastasia Ni
Despite the rigours and challenges of choir life during a global pandemic, UCC has been fortunate to be joined by two new members, both with decades of experience in choral singing.
With our gatherings now largely limited to Zoom, a medium not especially conducive to getting to know people well – particularly in a group format – we are delighted to introduce our two newest choristers via UCC’s blog, in their own words!
Carol Houston (Soprano)
I joined the UCC choir last June, mainly because I wanted and needed to keep singing; and I knew Laurie (Evan Fraser) from years ago.
I have my Associate Diploma (ARCT) in piano and voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and a Licentiate Diploma (LTCL) in voice from Trinity College London (England), where I studied through the Canadian branch in Toronto. I taught vocal music for the Toronto Catholic District School Board for more than 30 years.
After retiring, I volunteered in the Kindergarten Music program at a Toronto District School Board public school, where my grandson is a student. I also joined five choirs and taught a few private students. However, all that ended abruptly last March, when the schools and churches closed due to the pandemic.
UCC has saved my sanity, although I still continue to have a private Vocal coach – I worked with them on WhatsApp at first, and later on Zoom. At the request of my family, I have stayed home and live my life on Zoom.
UCC is a great choir, very welcoming, with an eclectic repertoire, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
Erika Zauchner (Tenor)
I’ve been singing for a frighteningly long number of years in different choirs since I was young – starting with community choirs in Montreal, where I grew up. When I moved here, I started singing with a church choir, then joined the Toronto Chamber Society for about ten years. Then, as I moved around, I joined whatever choir was in the community. Living in Brampton, I ended up singing in Orangeville, with the Headwaters Concert Choir, then more recently I joined the Dufferin Concert Singers and Amaranth Chamber Choir under conductor, John Wervers.
I joined UCC and Cantemos last fall, as the choirs that I had been singing with stopped rehearsing after the outbreak of Covid-19. Until then, I had been happy with my then choir and its conductor. However, Laurie Mace and Ross Mclean are dear friends and have been asking me to join them at UCC for years. (I've been to their concerts since they started with the choir, and very much enjoyed the performances). When I heard that UCC was still rehearsing, I decided to join them "just to see" (famous last words)!
Laurie (Mace) dragged me off to choir the first time, as at that point we were still singing in the church, and I was made to feel so welcome. Laurie Evan Fraser is one of the most heartfelt people I’ve ever met, and I loved working on Misa Criolla as I knew it well, so it was a good opportunity to sing it.
At the moment, UCC and Cantemos are literally the only game in town, and I have become very attached to them both, especially Cantemos. Being a tenor, I have felt very welcomed and accepted by the men in my section (as well as all the other singers), which I appreciate and credit Laurie’s leadership in that area as well. I don’t have enough good things to say about her – she’s a treasure!
Please note: If you are interested in joining our choir, during or post-Covid 19, we would love to hear from you! Check out the link below.
