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About Us
From its official inception on June 14, 1930, the mandate of the Fort
William Male Choir, as stated in its Constitution, was and remains today
At
"promote interest in male chorus singing and in general to foster
interest in the Lakehead Musical Culture".
For more than eight decades, this group has done just that, and as their
numbers and fame grew, their musical influence spread beyond the
local boundaries to national and international spheres.
Click here to view a detailed history of the
organization.
The Who's Who of the Fort William Male Choir
From time to time, one is asked......Who are
these performers in the FWMC? It is my pleasure to introduce you to our
membership and share with you some of their personal traits or gifts. To
begin, I am pleased to introduce you the core of the choir.
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Meet our conductor of over 30
years, Mr. Ken House. Ken, a choir life member has contributed immensely
over 55 +
years to the life and direction of our choir. His demand for the high degree
of excellence contributes to the caliber of choir performances that
audiences have enjoyed world wide. Ken swims and walks regularly to maintain
his fitness and energy to counter the physical demands of conducting this
group. Ken has 3 grown children and many grandchildren.
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Diane Crocker is the Choir's Accompanist. Diane is an exceptional musician with a very extensive background.
Diane provides imagination and energy as a performance is readied. If there
is choreography, one can be certain that Diane has been involved in its
evolution. Diane is the only female Life Member of the choir and has
accompanied the choir over 50 years. She is a wonderful lady with a great
sense of humor and we think of her as one of the guys. She has 1 daughter
and 3 wonderful grandchildren.
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Willard Allen is our Assistant
Conductor and Ken's right hand person. In addition to assisting Ken and the
music committee in developing programs for our appearances, Willard must
always be ready to step in at concerts and practices as per needed to
conduct the choir. Willard is a life member and sings in the baritone
section and provides them with the benefit of his musical skills as they
tackle new as well as old music. Along with his wife Sandi, he has 3
children.
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Gerard Tremblay, our current President, is responsible
for overseeing the business end of the choir and sings in the 1st
Tenor
section.
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Don Harris Jr, is our Vice
President, and sings in the 1st Tenor
section.
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Pat Gain, our past President, sings in the Baritone
section.
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Ian Hosegood is the Choir treasurer, and sings in the Bass
section.
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Glen McLeod is an assistant conductors of the
Choir, and a director on the executive. In addition to his high energy level, Glen brings a wealth of musical
experience to assist and support Ken, Diane and Willard.
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John Charry is a Director on the
Executive, and sings in the 1st Tenor Section. John is a Medical Radiation
technologist and his hobbies include teaching Karate and travelling.
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Pat Gallagher is the Choir
Secretary on the Executive, and sings in the 2ndTenor Section. Pat also
looks after the Choir Wardrobe and manages the Website.
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Al Dokuchic is a Director on the Executive, and sings in the 2ndTenor Section.
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Ralph Moorwood is the stage Manager for the
choir, and a Director on the Executive. Ralph sings in the Baritone Section.
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Senior Statesmen
Bill Greaves and Bob Loney,
both "Basso Profundos", share the distinction of being
the most Senior active choir members. Both have been actively
involved in the choir for over 55 years.
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Bill and his wife Shirley have 5 children. In
his spare time, Bill is an avid curler and involved with his Church work. |
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Bob Loney is a
director on the executive, he has 3 children and enjoys
spending free time at his Camp on Lake Superior. Bob continues to stay in
shape actively walking or bike riding regularly.
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Work behind the Curtains!
Many individuals are responsible for
the way the choir productions appear before our audiences. Two of
our members are responsible for the Set Designs, and Costuming and
the actual building of our elaborate sets.
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Please meet Paul Dudar a first
tenor and our set designer, who has for over 38 years provided the ideas and
research for our staging and specific costumes worn by our members during
production. Paul uses his dedication to artwork, art and photography to do
this.
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Nestor Chehowy, affectionally known as Chic is
responsible for the coordination of the building of the sets designed by
Paul. Chic has sung in the Baritone section for 27 years. Along with Mary,
Chic enjoys life with his 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren. Chic enjoys
travelling, coin and stamp collecting as well as gardening.
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The
Faces behind the Voices
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Larry Black is our very thorough Ticket Manager.
Larry & Deanna have 2 children and since retirement from work enjoys his
winters south sampling wine, sun, and fine food.
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Meet Bill Jessiman
affectionately known as Billy Bus....Bill has been a 1st tenor for 32 years.
Bill, as the choir librarian, has the responsibility of keeping the
thousands of music sheets in order as readily accessible for Ken. Bill has
also been responsible for driving the choir for some of its many singing
engagements in the region. Bill and wife Gerri have 5 children.
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New Members of the Choir
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Terry Alexander joined the choir in the fall 2011
and sings in the Baritone section. |
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Gary Kajutis joined the choir in the fall 2011, and sings in the 2nd Tenor section. | |
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2013 Spaghetti
Sing-a-long Supper
Interested in
Joining FWMC
Become a Friend
of the Choir
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