First Message Fall 2026
It is August 14, and I am providing you with information on the following topics.
New Info:
1. Fall Plans & Registration Info.
2. Fall Schedule
3. Repertoire
4. Concert Beneficiary
5. Volunteers
6. Website
7. Video of Spring Concert
8. Who is getting this mailout?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1) Fall Plans & Registration
a) We are pleased that Katy Harmer will again be our Artistic Director, and Charmaine Bacon will again be our pianist.
b) Registration: For the Fall Season 2026 will open tomorrow August 15, on the Margaretschoir.ca website.
c) The recommended fee will be $110.00. Prior policies regarding fees remain in effect. To Register, go to our website and follow directions therein (margaretschoir.ca).
d) Gene will have copies of the music available for those who have indicated during registering that they are looking to have the choir pre-print their scores ($15 cost). As in years previous, members may print their own or request that the choir supply a copy at additional cost.
e) Zoom will again be available during rehearsals at UUC.
2) Fall Rehearsal and Concert Schedule
a) Our Fall season begins 2:30 Sunday, September 13th, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 603 Wellington Crescent. Rehearsals will take place weekly with the exception of the Thanksgiving weekend.
b) Fall Potluck is tentatively set for October 25th.
c) Our Fall concert takes place the afternoon of Sunday December 6th, and Dress Rehearsals November 29th and Tuesday December 1st, at Portage Avenue Church, 1420 Portage Ave.
3) Repertoire
Fall 2026: Title & Composer
1,2,3,4 Feist, arr. Marc Jenkins
Bridge Over Troubled Water arr. Kirby Shaw
I Am a Voice That Sings Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, Ronald W. Cadmus
Lean on Me (with We Shall Overcome) arr. Mark Hayes
Love is love Abbie Betinis
Midwinter song Liam Robinson
This is Me (Greatest Showman) arr. Mac Huff
We Rise Again Leon Dubinsky (arr. Lydia Adams)
4) Concert Beneficiary this Season is Healthy Start.
a) Executive Director of Healthy Start, Davorka Monti, sent this description to us:
i) We are truly grateful to have been chosen as the recipient of this year's December concert proceeds. I am looking forward to working with your "Dream Team", they sound fantastic and clearly have so much passion for the choir!
ii) Please find our program description below (if it's too long, please let me know and I can provide a shorter version):
iii) Healthy Start is a community-based program dedicated to ensuring every baby in Winnipeg gets the healthiest possible start. For over 29 years, we have provided strength-based pregnancy and early parenting support across eight Winnipeg neighborhoods. Each year, our collaborative team of Outreach Workers, Dietitians, and Public Health Nurses welcomes approximately 1,200 participants across nearly 5,000 group visits. Our drop-in model is free and open to all.
iv) A unique feature of Healthy Start is our Newcomer Program, where parents learn about prenatal and infant care in their own language through simultaneous interpretation in up to 15 languages. For many interpreters, this provides a vital first job in Canada. Proceeds from December’s Margaret’s Choir performance will directly support this interpretation program. Thank you for helping us give Winnipeg babies and families a healthy start!
b) Gene and I visited Davorka at the beginning of August. We formalized the process for the beneficiary concert and were provided with an overview of the services provided. Some of the stats mentioned by Davorka are eye-opening. They provide practical services to women across a wide range of ages; no qualifying conditions during pre-natal and post-natal times. Healthy Start was our beneficiary partner in 2013, and Davorka fondly remembers a successful high energy concert.
5) Volunteers
a) The choir and Dream Team are very busy with so many things. We have identified a need for a Librarian. The Librarian would keep track of our music (where to get copies and how many, ordering copies as needed, and sending off no-longer-needed copies to the Manitoba Choral Association). Katy identifies what music is needed, and others make copies for members and for the website. So the Librarian becomes part of that team. Let me know if you are interested.
6) Website
a) Our extreme thanks and gratitude to Jennifer Glen and Bill Reid for their rather dramatic and thorough renovation of our website. I have hopes that it draws folks to use the tools available.
b) If you have comments after reviewing the website, or good quotes regarding what it is like to participate in the choir, send them to Jennifer (use the contact us portion of the website) as I know she will enjoy hearing from you.
7) Video of Spring Concert
a) Our May 3rd concert was videotaped by technicians of the church. We have just today received a copy for processing. Apparently, the project was so massive that it overwhelmed their equipment, and they had to do some programming before making it available.
b) We will now do our own processing in preparation for posting.
8) Who is getting this mailout?
I am sending out this and a few future messages, to choristers from previous seasons. Once registration is well underway, and likely before the end of September, I will restrict my send-outs to those currently registered. I may expand the list when it comes time to announce ticket sales.
Leonard
