The Choir
During our church’s redevelopment, the BSUC choir is merged with the choir of St. Matthew’s United for our combined worship services. We have done some pre-recorded choir music, and the combined choir currently sings live in services.
The choir provides musical leadership at Sunday services from September through June. As well as leading the congregation in the hymns, it sings anthems ranging from Renaissance motets to contemporary pieces. In keeping with the church’s commitment to inclusivity and outreach, the choir (and congregation) have sung in many different languages, including French, Spanish, Ojibwa, Inuktitut, German, Korean, Latin, Xosa, and Zulu – and of course English. The choir is always happy to welcome new members. There are no auditions, but some rudimentary knowledge of musical notation is an asset.
Choir rehearsal is held on Thursday evenings from 7-9pm at St. Matthew’s United Church, 729 St. Clair Ave.W. near Christie.
The 4 manual Casavant Organ
Over the last decade the Casavant organ has undergone a rebuild by the Simcoe, Ontario organ builder Blair Batty, funded through the dedication of the Organ Restoration Committee and the volunteer labour of the congregation (cleaning pipes) as well as their generous financial support of the project.
The four-manual Casavant organ was completed in 1954 to replace its predecessor, destroyed in Bloor Street’s “Great Fire”. It is a substantial well-built instrument voiced to the English Romantic tonal ideals of the time. Along with cleaning the pipes, replacing felt and leather valves, the builder has reconfigured and revoiced some sections of the organ to produce a more present, exciting sound, while respecting the essential character of the instrument.
The final stage of restoration was to replace the aging mechanical system in the console with a digital system to allow maximum flexibility for the organist to plan registration changes, and make it easy for multiple users of the instrument to preserve their own settings.
Redevelopment up-date:
Fear not! – Our organ is safely stored in Ste-Hyacinthe, QC while our building is completely redeveloped. Cleaned and fine-tuned, it will return in an improved acoustical setting in 2026.
The Piano
The Young Chang concert grand in the sanctuary was purchased in the late 1960s. Recently the pin block and strings have been replaced and a new set of high quality German hammers installed. So now the piano sounds as good (or better) than when it was new!
The Silvester Kirby Organ Scholarship
In memory of two of Bloor Street’s musical finest, Fred Silvester (Director of Music 1938-66) and Mary Kelly Kirby, music teacher for the Royal Conservatory and founder of the renowned Kelly Kirby Kindergarten, a scholarship was set up to be awarded to a promising organ student.
The scholar has the opportunity to play the organ in services as well as practice on the 4-manual Casavant organ. Organ students are invited to apply, and the scholarship may be renewed for several years. Contact David Passmore for more information.
The organ scholar program will be re-activated once our organ is restored to it’s place in the redeveloped church sanctuary.
