Christmas carols float on angel voices, cascading into a place of worship to tell timeless stories through tradition.
For Julian Vanderput, the music director at St. George’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg, it puts life in perspective.
“It reminds us of better things. It helps remind us that were placed on Earth, really, I think, for something more than just ourselves,” he said. “We live in such a narcissistic, ‘Me, me, me, me, me, me and I’ society.
“Choirs, when they’re singing, are a group of individuals that have put aside those individual things to come together.”
The choir he directs at St. George’s has been running for more than 70 years. He is the third music director there, and is anxious to keep the tradition alive.
“We hope that, you know, choir singing at Christmas will encourage people both in hope, but also to continue the message of love. And the important part is, to make it last all year. Not just a one-time thing,” he said.
Prior to Vanderput, Rick Morgan was the music director for 19 years, and the director before him was there for 50 years.
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“As they say, you don’t have to throw the baby with the bathwater. So you can introduce some new things, but keep the traditions going as well,” Morgan said.
But very little has actually changed over the years, he said, aside from turning to contemporary English, and allowing girls and women to join the choir.
It’s the constancy of tradition though, that helps the church’s congregation engage in something much deeper, Morgan said.
“We’re worshiping God. That’s what we’re doing. I think that’s what it boils down to. We are worshiping God in our music in the best way we can,” he said. “And every church tries to do that, whether they’re singing traditional stuff, or a little more upbeat stuff. Everyone is trying to worship God.”
This expression of faith is what’s important to Shauna Mallory, who has sung with St. George’s choir for about 20 years.
“Singing is a kind of praying. And certainly that’s, for me, has always been the way,” she said.
As a busy architect, she said being a part of the choir nurtures her soul in a special way.
“It just lifts me up, it’s very relaxing, and it’s really enjoyable feeling to sing out and be part of something bigger than yourself,” she said.
This is what Vanderput, and those before him, hope for: For a place where any and all can come to experience comfort and joy, and partake in sharing a message of hope for decades more.
“This is what it’s about. There’s too much ugliness in the world, and we want to strive to bring beauty,” Vanderput said.
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‘It just lifts me up’: Winnipeg church choir still around after 70 years
