The year was 1970, and Grace Church was struggling. Its minister, Rev. Bill Mitchell, retired on December 31 that year, leaving the pulpit vacant until the arrival in September 1971 of Rev. R. Campbell “Cam” Taylor. Cam served as Grace’s beloved minister for almost five years, until May 1976, and after retirement in 2001 returned with his wife Sandy to the newly amalgamated Graceview as Minister in Association and later Minister Emeritus.
We tend to think of churches as thriving in those days fifty years ago, with large congregations, large Sunday Schools, large choirs, and enough youngish people to share the work willingly and equitably. But that was not necessarily so.
Finances, which are a major concern today, were certainly so in the 70’s, with liabilities as of December 31, 1970, totalling $61,500. This situation improved as the 70’s progressed, and in 1980 the rear property (where Centennial Park Place is now) was sold for a total of $245,000, which eliminated, for the time being, any concerns about finances.
The choir at that time was gasping for breath. The Annual Report of 1970 included this report from choir member and elder Bill Downie, whom some of you will remember fondly. (Bill wasn’t one for mincing words!)
The choir has been a disaster this year…Mary Lou Rigby has stepped into the breach as our organist and has done an excellent job. The whole load has been carried by her and our two regulars, Lynn Crawford and Marg McGee…to make up a choir of three.
What we need now is (sic) a few keen members who will give up two hours on Wednesday evenings and appear each Sunday morning to give us the benefit of their efforts at practice. I am sure in our congregation there must be one or two people who can sing…
Music was then, as it is now, an integral part of our worship service. In 1970, it was abundantly clear that the choir was in difficulty and in need of new direction. Things began to look better with the arrival in 1972 of Eric Medhurst as Organist and Choir Director. Eric came to Grace from Martin Grove Baptist Church with little in the way of experience or credentials other than his prowess on the organ and piano. He was twenty-two years old and had been fired from Martin Grove. He used to say that they fired him because “they didn’t like the colour of my tie...” Eric was to remain as Grace/Graceview’s Choir Director for nearly fifty years, learning and growing in the position, until his retirement from the choir in August 2021. Sadly, Eric passed away a year later, in early September 2022. On a personal note, I was his elder and he was my friend, and I miss him and mourn his passing to this day.
Under Eric’s leadership, by the early eighties the choir had made a dramatic turn-around, not only in appearance – they were sporting new choir gowns – but also in number and versatility. They were accompanied from time to time by brass instruments – a tuba, a French horn, a saxophone played by Bob Dobson, and a trumpet played by Rev. Terry Samuel, who was minister at that time. The rock opera “Godspell” was presented in 1981. A year later a junior choir began practising and participating in worship services under the leadership of choir member and teacher Doris Bryce. A wonderful addition to the music program was a new organ, installed in 1988.
Fast forward to 2002. I had retired from the Toronto District School Board that June. For years, I had been listening to the beautiful anthems that were sung by the choirs at Hillview Church and at our newly formed Graceview, and I wanted to sing them, too. I had no prior choral experience, but I could read music at a basic level and I didn’t think my voice was terrible. When choir practices started up again after the summer hiatus, I gathered up my courage and presented myself at the church for the first Thursday evening choir practice in the Fall of 2002. I was met on the porch, quite literally with open arms, by the aforementioned Bill Downie, who was delighted to see me and gave me a big hug. Well, that was an auspicious beginning!
Once inside the church, I approached the music director, Eric, whose “audition” consisted of two questions: “Can you read?” (I was smart enough to know he meant music and not words), and “What do you sing?” That one gave me pause for a second until I realized he meant “what voice”. Having no clue, I said “soprano”, thinking that with no experience I had better start with singing the melody. Sitting up there in the choir loft beside Doris Bryce who, may she rest in peace, was a great mentor, I quickly realized that I had a few things to learn. But by Christmas that year, I had more or less figured it out. In a very short time, I knew that joining the church choir was the best thing I had done for myself since retirement. It was a win-win situation, and I loved it. No matter what kind of a Thursday I had had, I looked forward to choir practice and always felt better afterwards. I hated it when the odd time, choir practice would be cancelled because of, say, a blizzard. Singing makes the soul take flight.
We are all nostalgic for times gone by, when the church was full and the choir boasted at its peak, twenty-two singers able to present a new anthem, in four voices, every Sunday. The back row was filled with tenors and basses, and it was lovely to hear the men singing out and supporting the sopranos and altos in front. We would start practising the Christmas music at the beginning of November, and by the time the Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols rolled around, we were superbly prepared and confident. Oh, the wonderful anthems we sang in those days, not only to mark the Christmas season but throughout the year.
But the times they are a-changin’. It’s hard to say exactly when our numbers, both in the congregation and the choir, began to noticeably diminish, but as the years went on we could see that with the choir, aging, illness and death were
taking a toll, and we were not replacing ourselves. A few years before the pandemic, the choir had shrunk to two or three men, two or three altos, and a handful of sopranos, still presenting a multi-voice anthem every Sunday. And then the pandemic came along and really did a number on many churches, including us. When Eric Medhurst died in 2022, it felt like the end of an era. His loyalty, devotion an dedication to our church and our choir were exemplary. He told me more than once that he never turned into our church parking lot without thanking God for the privilege of being Graceview’s Music Director.
Eric’s passing was a shock to the choir and the congregation, but we carried on, determined to keep the choir going, to the glory of God and to serve our church. We embarked on a search for a new Music Director, which hadn’t happened for fifty years. We had to start from scratch and were guided in the search by Susan Chopp, a musician in her own right and chair of the Search Committee. The search resulted in the arrival of Kento Stratford, young, enthusiastic, talented, with little experience as a choir conductor but who learned quickly. Popular with th congregation and the Sing!Etobicoke folks, Kento was with us for three years before moving on to a position at a bigger church that could offer a higher salary and greater challenges.
So it was back to the drawing board and a second search committee in three years. We were excited in October 2024 when Boris Treivus joined us as Music Director, and things immediately began to happen.
These days when we are all present, we are a choir of seven to nine women – but we are rarely all present. Some of us are experienced choral singers, others are not; some of us have basic knowledge of music notation, others do not; only one of us, Susan, is musically trained. All are volunteer who have made the heavy commitment to serve our church in this way and consider it a privilege to do so. The anthems we sing are either unison or two-part pieces for soprano and alto. We have a vast music library of wonderful anthems, all of them written for four-part singing. Many could be sung in unison or otherwise adapted to suit the present make-up of the choir, but Boris has a considerable library of music himself, totally new to us. He is challenging us to reach new heights, learning new pieces every Thursday and singing them that Sunday. Many are two-part pieces, which is difficult for some of us – but we have been doing it. Learning them with only one rehearsal, ready to sing on Sunday, is extremely challenging, but we are working on rectifying this situation. Almost all of the comments I have heard regarding Boris and the music we are doing have been very positive. It is certainly different from what we are accustomed to. We work very hard at Thursday night practices. If you want to get a glimpse of what we are doing, check out our website. Google “Graceview Presbyterian Church” and go to “website” – “about us” – “church groups” – “choir”, and you will see us at practice. I am very proud of our choir members for hanging in and reaching beyond what we believe ourselves capable of.
Dr. Victoria Meredith, a choral conductor and professor at the University of Western Ontario, in her study of four adult choirs, concluded, “choral singing improves overall health, increases respiratory function, heightens the immune system, and improves brain function.” According to Professor Graham Welch at the University of London, England, “… singing is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the bloodstream and exercises major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting…” The health benefits that are a by-product of choral singing are myriad. It is also a mood-elevator and a brain exercise that may help to ward off potential cognitive decline in later years. Singing in Graceview’s choir is a no-lose activity, a wonderful way to serve God and the church while heaping benefits on oneself.
Did you know that only about 3% of any given population is tone deaf and truly cannot sing? So, what do you say? If you can commit to two hours every Thursday evening, 6:30 to 8:30, and an early arrival at church on Sunday mornings, and if you are among the other 97%, please consider joining the choir. Women are always welcome of course, but a few male voices would be a wonderful enhancement to our music program. If you think you can make this commitment, speak to Boris and show up at the church on Thursday night at 6:30.