Toronto Beach Chorale’s Ceremony of Carols concert slated for Sunday, Dec. 14

By SEAN MALLEN

On a dreary, dark Wednesday night in November, choristers step out of the drizzle to gather at a local church.

They are retirees and top executives, teachers, a former surgeon and professionals from a broad variety of fields, brought together by a common love of great music and the joy of choral singing.

A silver-haired man with a honeyed voice at the front of the room directs them to their seats, arranging altos and sopranos, tenors, baritones and basses for best effect.

Once he is satisfied, Mervin Fick, Artistic Director of the Toronto Beach Chorale, begins the rehearsal.

“Let’s have everybody stand and sing the Silent Night.”

Their voices ring out with a variation on the familiar carol, a moving arrangement titled Love’s Pure Light by composer Elaine Hagenberg, with lush, complex harmonies.

Fick is in continual animated motion, keeping the beat with his baton, reaching out to one section to urge them on, pointing to his ribcage to remind of proper breathing technique and occasionally stopping to give notes.

“It sounds like it’s forced, rather than letting it emerge,” he says at one point to the sopranos.

After a couple of run-throughs, he exclaims: “Right from a Hallmark movie! That’s your benchmark. The choir sounds great!”

Toronto Beach Chorale is rehearsing for their first concert of the season a holiday performance on Sunday, Dec. 14, at Kingston Road United Church.

It will be highlighted by a performance of Ceremony of Carols by the British composer Benjamin Britten, a stunning piece of music featuring solo harp, with many of the lyrics in Middle English.

“It’s so well-balanced between dancelike and lyrical, almost like a juxtaposition of the sacred and the secular,” said Fick.
For more than 40 years, he has been an evangelist for choral music.

Along with the Toronto Beach Chorale, Fick is the Artistic Director of the Mississauga Chamber Singers, the PCS Singers in Brampton and the Church of St. Peter and St. Simon downtown. And he gives private voice lessons.

“I just love teaching. One of the best things is when you see a singer is surprised at their own achievement. There’s a rush,” said Fick.

For the choir’s performances, they bring in professional musicians — an orchestra and soloists. But the 40 people who form the core group are mostly volunteer singers.

Soprano Sheila Gill has been a member since the fifth season in 2012. A psychotherapist by day, she studied flute in high school, but had never before been in a choir.

“It created a renaissance in my musical self, which was always an undernourished part of my life,” she said.

Like many members of the choir, she takes private lessons with Fick and credits him with elevating her performance.

“I love making music with others and the community aspect,” said Gill. “As a therapist, I also know that it’s extraordinarily good for our overall health.”

Retired music teacher Elizabeth Bowes has been with the group for six years and believes the Chorale is a tremendous benefit for the Beach community.

“It allows people to hear great art music in their neighbourhood, sung well with the appropriate approach. Because Mervin knows the musical details required,” she said.

A lifelong French horn player, Bowes had never sung before joining the choir, leaning on lessons from Fick to improve.

“I didn’t sing. I hated my voice. But that’s because I didn’t know how to sing,” she said. “Learning how to do it well is very freeing. I really truly love it.”

Robin Green, a software engineer, joined the choir 10 years ago, after spotting a poster on a telephone pole that called out for new members.

“I think singing is such a joyful thing. I enjoy being with other people and singing together,” said Green.

“Choirs in general are a really strong indicator of the health of the community and community engagement.”

As for the upcoming Christmas performance on Dec. 14, Bowes said concert-goers are in for a treat.

“I’d played (Britten’s) music before but I had no idea of the Ceremony of Carols. Oh my, what a beautiful piece of music!”

Performance time for the Sunday, Dec. 14, concert is 7:30 p.m. Kingston Road United Church is located at 975 Kingston Rd.

Tickets for the performance of the Ceremony of Carols concert (including other holiday music) can be purchased from the choir’s website at https://www.torontobeachchorale.com/2025-26-season/

Upcoming concerts by the Toronto Beach Chorale in 2026 will include Songs of Spirit and Nature on Feb. 22 at St. Aidan’s in the Beach; and Carmina Burana on April 26 at Kingston Road United Church.