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...

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...

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 ...

  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...

It was Saturday, March 25, 2023. I was in the church standing atop the stairs looking down over the lower hall. I was taking in the view of the neatly set up tables, pristine white tablecloths covering them, and cutlery placed at each seat. And as I watched the members and friends of the chorus who were preparing the spaghetti, salad plates, and rolls, as well as those helping to distribute the bowls of chips efficiently and neatly on each table, I recognized that this event was part of a long tradition. I felt a sense of gratitude, pride, and humility of being part of a classy organization. According to Alan Briand, our Musical Director, the tradition began "as a means to help our members with contest expenses. Being a small chorus, we did not want anyone to miss the experience because of money.”  ( For those of you who are  interested in or thinking of joining us, every year in the spring, we travel down to Lake George, New York, to compete at the Western Regi...

  Bonjour à vous qui attendez des nouvelles au sujet de notre chorale. Oui, le samedi soir 13 avril qui vient, notre chorale organise à nouveau un repas spaghettis incluant un mini-spectacle à Greenfield Park dans notre salle de l’Église Saint-Paul située au 321, avenue Empire, à 18 heures.  Billet: 20$, gratuit pour les petits. Un très beau moment qui rassemble nos invités, parents et amis (es), enfants et grand-parents, gens de   partout qui désirent promouvoir la musique a cappella en harmonie à quatre voix. Le chant, pour nous, c’est un loisir ainsi qu’une manière de vivre en ces temps difficiles. Nous pratiquons tous les mercredis soirs.  Nous aimons la camaraderie et l’entraide que nous procurent ces rencontres hebdomadaires.  Le quatuor 4Give n 4Get lors du souper en septembre 2023 À tous les printemps , nous participons à des compétitions de chants barbershop en Nouvelle-Angleterre. En 2024, ce sera à Lake George, NY, les 3, 4 et 5 mai. Un ...