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On Saturday, March 21, 44 current Greystone Singers hosted 180 alumni from Oregon to Quebec gathered in the Education Building to celebrate the Greystone Singers’ 50th Anniversary. In an emotional afternoon amid displays with group photos, memorabilia, and programs extending back to 1958-59, there were stories to be retold, reminiscences to be relived, and old friendships to be rejuvenated. After the luncheon, each of five (of the eight) conductors in the group’s history rehearsed the mass choir: Robert Solem (conductor for 31 years), Duff Warkentin (two years), Robert Hall and Andrée Dagenais (one year), and the current conductor, Gerald Langner (ten years). Following a banquet at the Western Development Museum all assembled at Knox United Church for a joint concert to an enthusiastic capacity audience. The current Greystone Singers performed the first half of the program and were then joined by the alumni in a mass chorus under each of the conductors. President Peter MacKinnon, Dean of Arts and Science Jo-Anne Dillon, and Vice-Dean of Arts and Science Peter Stoicheff, conveyed their greetings and congratulations. In the words of President MacKinnon: “It was an evening filled with joy.”
The Greystone Singers were organized in the fall of 1958 as a campus-wide student ensemble sponsored by the former University Music Directorate and conducted by James Bolle from the Department of Music. The first year included joint performances with the “Engineer’s Chorus,” the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and concluded with a major production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers.” Over the next four years they were conducted by the late Kenneth Ansdell (1959-63), organist at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. In 1963 Robert Solem succeeded as their conductor for thirty-one years, with intervals by the late Dwaine Nelson (1968-69), Robert Hall (1987-88), Andrée Dagenais (1988-89), and Duff Warkentin (1997-99). Gerald Langner (1999-) is their current conductor.
The “Greystone tradition” of excellence and dedication to fine choral singing—presenting exemplary choral music to the people of Saskatchewan and beyond—has expanded to include nearly fifteen hundred young men and women over its half century of existence. The influence of, and exposure to, such high artistic standards and camaraderie during these students’ formative years remains a powerful influence and advocacy for music and the fine arts that will continue to inspire and affect them throughout their careers and lives.
Reunion 2009
Greystone Singers
Photo Gallery
Reunion 2009
Greystone Singers
Sound Clips
2009 Greystone Singers
2009 Greystone Singers and Alumni
Spaseniye Sodelal (Salvation is Created)
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