Malcolm Campbell High School Senior Choir, 1962-63

Senior Choir. Source: MCHS 1962-63 yearbook

Senior Choir. Source: MCHS 1962-63 yearbook

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MALCOLM CAMPBELL SENIOR CHOIR

In September 1962 the Executive of the Senior Mixed choir was elected. Audree Blampied was chosen President, Ellsworth Ritch Vice-President, Donna Bristow Secretary-Treasurer, Beverlee Blampied Librarian, Zennie Levitsky Assistant Librarian, and Linda Colucci Registrar.

The Staff and student body can be justifiably proud of their Senior Choir which has proved itself on numerous performances. This year’s Choir made its debut at the First Presbyterian Church. The Choir sang “Scarlet and Silver”, “Romanian Rhapsody”, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, and “Rock of my Soul”. “Rock of my Soul” was such a huge success that an encore was requested. The evening at the Church was a rehearsal for M.C.H.S.’s First Graduation Ceremonies, which was next on the Choir’s agenda.

On December 15th, 1962 at 10 a.m. the Choir was seen on CBC’s Youth Special. The program had been taped a week previous.

A select group was chosen from the Choir to sing Christmas Carols for the patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital on December 18th, 1962…..Jhe patien+s seemed to enjoy the performance immensely.

The Choir also sang for the student body at the school on December 22nd at the Christmas Assembly.

In April, ihe Choir competed in the Montreal Song Festival. We sang “Spring” and “Hallelujah Amen”, both selections written by Handel. The Choir did exceed­ingly well, and everyone was pleased with the results.

The biggest engagement for the Senior Choir was M.C.H.S.’s Second Annual Spring Concert. The Choir sang a few selections, but the audience enjoyed the rendition of “My Fair Lady” most. The Choir worked very hard perfecting this number, and the audience’s applause at the conclusion was rewarding to everyone.

The Senior Choir is to be commended, but a special tribute should be given to Mr. Hopper who has sacrificed countless hours of his time to organize and improve our Senior Choir.

Donna Bristow, (Xl -D)
Secretary-Treasurer

[End of text]

Technical Note

For the scan of the choir and similar recent scans, I’ve used an Epson Perfection V550 Photo Scanner, set at 48-bit Colour and 400 dpi. I bought the Epson V550 Photo scanner about a year ago when I needed to buy a new scanner quickly for a project I was working on, as I was on the road, and had forgotten to bring along a cable for the lower-end scanner I had been using until then. I’ve learned that it’s worth one’s while to buy one of the better quality scanners, such as the one I’m using now, rather than one of the least expensive ones.

Mr. Hopper

Mr. L.G. Hopper. Source: MCHS 1962-63 yearbook

Click here to access previous posts mentioning Mr. Hopper >

In a Comment at one of the posts, I note that Graeme Decarie reports that Mr. Hopper “became music director at a big church in ‘downtown’ Charlottetown. It would have been 1968 or so.”

“(It’s an easy walk from ‘downtown’ Charlottetown to the ‘suburbs’),” Graeme Decarie added.

I was so pleased when I learned that Mr. Hopper had retired to PEI and that he remained active in music. It’s a delight to know about teachers’ lives after they retired from their teaching careers.

 

 

2 replies
  1. Bob Carswell
    Bob Carswell says:

    Ellsworth Ritch live up the street from me in Saraguay. His name just came to mind and I thought I would look him up on the Internet. The Ritch basement was the location of the Saraguay Model Car Club where we spent countless hours painting and assembling AMT plastic models in our youth.

    At MCHS he was Vice President of the Senior Choir and he got through school okay. The last time I ran into him was in the hospital up on Pine Avenue in Montreal where I was visiting a friend. Ellsworth worked there as a medical orderly. I moved to Toronto not long afterwards and lost touch. I found him on the Internet today. It seems he died eight years ago, with lots of family around him. ELLSWORTH RITCH (1943-2009) RIP

    Reply
  2. Jaan Pill
    Jaan Pill says:

    It’s good to have the update, Bob. I have edited the content, as I occasionally do.

    I have added Ellsworth’s name to our MCHS list of former students who have passed away.

    Reply

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