Chorale Barbershop / Barbershop Chorus

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, the South Shore A Cappella Chorus (affectionately known as the South Shore Saints) celebrated its landmark 65-year Anniversary -  A Journey Through Time - one of its most successful in recent memory.   Several factors likely contributed to the success:  1) The chorus secured Roulette as its guest quartet, well before they had been crowned Harmony Queens in 2024. Roulette - 2024 Harmony Inc. Champions 2) It hosted the Harmony eXplosion camp sponsored by the Northeastern District (NED) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) for the first time ever in Quebec, at Saint-Lambert International High School on the South Shore. Harmony eXplosion Camp: Saint-Lambert International High School 3) The chorus made a skillful jujutsu move, turning the tense US-Canada relations into an opportunity to take time off from competing at NED conventions, to focus on our annual show. 4) T hree new members - Robert Lepage (baritone), Michel Girard (Bass), and...

It’s hard to believe, but I’m already in my 10 th  year with the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), which is one of the pre-eminent organizations in the world of a cappella singing. In the summer of 2015, my wife and I were living in Virginia with our son. I was freelancing from home and cooking for the family, but circumstances were changing. Our son had recently been accepted to a prestigious high school, and my wife had just been offered a professorship in Montreal starting in 2017. To help our son finish high school in Virginia, I had to step up… or rather, step out… of the home. I needed to get a full time job. But having worked remotely from home for 7 years since relocating from Texas to Virginia, I had lost my social skills. I needed to get involved in my local community again. One summer evening, after pondering the most joyful activity I could imagine, and how I might best contribute to the local community, I had one of the clearest eureka (a-ha!) moments in my life. Tatsu...

With bated breath, we are ecstatic to announce that  the countdown until our 65th Anniversary Show begins today !  The Chorale A Cappella South Shore , also commonly known as the South Shore Saints , is a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) , and the only men's a cappella chorus in Quebec that strives to sing songs in the barbershop style, that is, songs arranged in four-part harmony (tenor, lead, baritone, and bass).   To our knowledge, we are also the only men's BHS chorus that sings French songs arranged in the barbershop style !  As our long history of community involvement since our founding in 1960 shows, we remain steadfast in serving our communities on the South Shore and Greater Montreal Area. Most notably, the chorus coordinated the first ever Harmony eXplosion Camp this spring, a BHS-initiative to support young singers in the Northeast District, for the first time ever in Quebec (at Saint-Lambert High School), and will be doing so again nex...

On a beautiful autumn evening last Saturday, September 27, the South Shore Saints (aka Chorale A Cappella South Shore) held their first and only Spaghetti Supper of the year.  Post-pandemic, we have held this fundraising event biannually, once in the spring and again in the fall, to cover registration fees for members participating in the spring regional and fall district conventions, respectively. This year, however, the chorus decided not to attend the spring regional convention in Lake George, NY, in large part because more than a few members were hesitant to travel across the border due to tensions with our neighbours to the south. And because attending the fall district convention is contingent on having qualified in the spring (which we had done for the past 3 years running, returning with the most improved chorus award each time), we had suddenly lost our justification for holding our cherished Spaghetti Suppers.  Yet every seemingly unfortunate event usually comes with...

To our friends and family, known and as yet unknown : At long last, the South Shore Saints (aka Chorale a cappella South Shore) will host our renowned Spaghetti Supper on Saturday, September, 27, 2025 !   If you haven't been to one, you don't know what you've been missing ! (See  here ,  here ,  here , and  here .) Why spaghetti?  For one thing, it’s one of the most popular dishes in the world.  Growing up in Southern California, my favorite restaurant was the Spaghetti Factory.  When my I got married in Japan, where Italian cuisine is a mainstay, we booked a trattoria near Komazawa Olympic Park for our wedding.  Spaghetti has remained one of our family’s simplest, hearty, and satisfying meals.  Given its popularity among people of all ages, it is arguably one the most global soul foods.  It reminds us of home, family, and good times.   At this event, you have the option of being served freshly boi...

On Saturday, August 23, 2025, the South Shore a cappella Chorus (aka South Shore Saints), for the second year in a row, had a splendid time singing on center stage at the Fêtes de Saint-Lambert. Our repertoire included many iconic tunes spanning nearly a century from 1918 (After You've Gone) to 2016 (Ça va), including Pour un instant, the classic French hit by Harmonium. We had arrived at about the same time as in 2024, around 5:30 pm. Curiously, we noticed that there was no live music playing this year, in contrast to last year when there were big bands and other performers playing just before our debut on center stage. It was then we realized that this year, we were going to be the center of attention. A point worth noting is that singing a cappella can be tricky in an outdoor setting. Many factors, including the weather, a new venue, ambient noise, positioning and calibration of microphones, among others, can easily disrupt the unity of sound a chorus creates. This is becaus...

On     Wednesday, June 18, 2025, the South Shore Saints held their annual BBQ.     Since joining the chorus in the fall of 2021, my memories of this summertime event have been tinged with a mixture of nostalgia and joy.  That is perhaps because, for the past three BBQs in 2023, 2024, and 2025, we had solicited donations to commemorate members who had respectively passed away in each of those years: Dick “Super Bari” Johnston (who sang 52 years with the BHS !); William Donald “Don” Gillespie, first director of the Saints and the last of the original charter members who founded the chorus in 1960 to pass away; and this year, Luigi Calderisi, former Treasurer of the Board and arguably the most beloved member of the chorus. A Long-standing Tradition Despite having participated in this event only thrice, I would not be surprised to find that this practice of paying respect to (former) members having recently passed away, by remembering and celebrating their live...

  Chaque année, après un long hiver et quelques semaines durant lesquelles les bourgeons et les fleurs des arbres en dormance s'épanouissent dans une effervescence d'activité, la région du Grand Montréal s'éveille pour accueillir des visiteurs du monde entier pendant sa saison des festivals d'été. C'est également la période où les South Shore Saints , le seul chapitre masculin de la Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) au Québec, organisent un barbecue annuel pour célébrer les réalisations de la chorale avec la famille et les amis, et pour commémorer des individus qui ont eu un impact marquant au fil des ans.  L'année dernière, nous avons honoré la mémoire de Don Gillespie, le dernier membre fondateur vivant, en collectant des fonds pour une plaque à son nom, plaque qui est maintenant affichée au siège social de la BHS. Luigi (à droite), avec son meilleur ami Benoit (à gauche) au Festival de Saint-Lambert 2024. Cette année, nous invitons la famille, les amis et les ...

Every year, following a long winter and a few weeks during which dormant tree buds and flowers burst open in a flurry of activity, the Greater Montreal Area springs alive to welcome visitors from all over the world during its summer festival season.     This is also the season when the South Shore Saints , the only men’s Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) chapter in Quebec, host an annual barbecue to celebrate the accomplishments of the chorus with family and friends and/or commemorate individuals that have made a lasting impact across the years.     Last year, we commemorated the passing of Don Gillespie , the last of our surviving founders, by raising funds for a plaque in his name, which is now displayed at the BHS headquarters. Luigi (right), with best friend Benoit (left) at the 2024 Saint-Lamberts Festival This year, we invite family, friends, and guests of all ages to join us on the evening of Wednesday, June 18 for a splendid mid-week reset, as we share memorie...

Learn a song in one evening, Discover the beauty of harmony, Bcome the singer you want to be. SouthShoreSaintsChorus@gmail.com

  À tous nos amis et à notre famille, connus et inconnus : C'est de nouveau cette période de l'année ! La chorale organise un Souper spaghetti le samedi 31 mai 2025. Si vous y avez déjà assisté, vous savez à quoi vous attendre. Et si ce n'est pas le cas, vous risquez d'être agréablement surpris ! (Pour votre intérêt, voyez ici , ici et ici .) Pourquoi des spaghettis ? Pour une chose, c'est l'un des plats les plus populaires au monde. En grandissant dans le sud de la Californie, mon restaurant préféré était le Spaghetti Factory. Lorsque ma femme et moi nous sommes mariés au Japon, où la cuisine italienne est une institution, nous avons réservé une trattoria près du parc olympique de Komazawa pour notre mariage. À part une période où j'ai adopté un régime paléo, les spaghettis sont restés l'un des repas les plus simples, copieux et satisfaisants de notre famille. Étant donné sa popularité auprès des personnes de tous âges, on peut dire que c'e...

To all of our friends and family, both known and as yet unknown : It’s that time of year again ! The chorus will be hosting a Spaghetti Supper on Saturday, May 31, 2025.  If you’ve already been to one, you know what to expect.  And If not, chances are, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise ! (For your interest, see here , here , here , and here .) Why spaghetti ?  For one thing, it’s one of the most popular dishes in the world.  Growing up in Southern California, my favorite restaurant was the Spaghetti Factory.  When my wife and I got married in Japan, where Italian cuisine is a mainstay, we booked a trattoria near Komazawa Olympic Park for our wedding.  Except for a time when I adopted a paleo diet, spaghetti has remained one of our family’s simplest, hearty, and satisfying meals.  Given its popularity among people of all ages, it is arguably a globally quintessential soul food.  It reminds us of home, fami...

On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, the South Shore Saints hosted their Annual Barbeque . This year’s event was special, as it served as an occasion to honor the life of the late Donald (Don) William Gillespie , the last original charter member of our organization to pass away. We were most fortunate that his wife Cathy Gillespie , who made the trip from Ontario, shared her memories of Don with us among a packed house full of kindred spirits from all across the Greater Montreal region. The more than 100 guests who filled the hall Cathy Gillespie with photos and memorabilia of Don Gillespie Don Gillespie (left) When I first heard the news from Alan Briand  (our director, who sings  Bass ) earlier in the year that "Don" (who I had never known) had been the last surviving “Founding Father,” was a tenor, and had passed away on February 13 (having just turned 92), I could not help but feel an instantaneous kinship with him, for I too am a tenor and he had passed away on non...