English Choir

“The English Choir (11:00 Mass) was formed in the ’60′s at the same time as St. Clement Church was established in the Mayland Heights area in north east Calgary.  Until a church site was acquired for St. Clement, masses were held, first in a hallway at St. Clement School, and then as the school expanded, it was held in the gymnasium.  The ‘church’ provided for the St. Clement congregation was an old army hut moved to the site from it’s location on the SAIT grounds.  Years passed by and we never did get permission to erect a proper church until it was decided for us that our parish would unite with St. Andrew’s Italian Church. At this point we gathered ourselves together and began the new era under the name of Our Lady of Grace Parish.  We’ve always had a lively, fun-loving group of members in our choir.  Our first director was Mr. Vic Hinger – an incredibly gifted musician.  We met and practised in his front room and were always treated to coffee and homemade goodies thanks to his wife, Maddalena.  Our numbers have fluctuated over the years as people came and went from the area and we’ve had as many as thirty members, but more often a faithful membership of a dozen to fifteen members.  Many of us have belonged to the choir since it’s inception and have become a ‘family’ away from home.  We’ve seen each other through good times and not so good times, celebrated the births of our children and are now watching our grandchildren grow into young adults.”

“We’ve watched our numbers decrease due to the deaths of many of our dearest, long time members, but every once in a while a shiny, new face will show up in the group and bring some youthful exuberance and lovely voices to our midst.  The present director has also been in the choir from the beginning and the way it looks, will be waving the wand for a while yet.  Our organist and guitarist have travelled across the city every Sunday to provide music for our celebrations since before they started their family.  Their two boys have been part of the choir since birth (being passed around from lap to lap during Mass) until now, when they are old enough to sing along or serve Mass on the altar.  We practise Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM and we are always open to new members. You just have to be able to carry a tune and most of all, love singing.   Remember – ‘when you sing, you pray twice!’ ” – Lorna Oel, Choir Director, June 28, 2010