News & Upcoming Performances

1. First rehearsal, 14 September 2023, 7:00 pm, in the Choral Room at the MUN School of 
Music.

Happy First Rehearsal Eve!!!

Good morning everyone! Just a couple of housekeeping things; bring your Messiah score and
your Beethoven 9 score (if you don't have a copy of the Beethoven, copies will be 
available for purchase); a pencil and water.

We have a bunch of new and returning choristers, so come early to allow time to catch up 
and to introduce yourselves!

REMINDER: We keep a scent free environment. We have a number of choristers with allergies
and asthma and we don't want to risk anyone.

As you may know there is a lot of road work on Elizabeth Avenue around MUN which may make
accessing the Music School from Elizabeth Avenue difficult. The suggestion is to come in
from Allandale Road to the Arts and Culture Centre and follow the road around Burton's 
Pond to the School of Music

Most of all..... have fun!!

Pauline (Secretary)
2. Welcome letter
Welcome, or welcome back, to the 2023-2024 singing season with the PCNSO. This note 
contains valuable information, please this note keep for future reference.

DATE, TIME and LOCATION
We will begin our upcoming season on Thursday, Sept 14th at 7:00PM in the Choral Room at 
the MUN School of Music. Free parking is available in LOT 15B next to the Music School. 
We take a short break around 8:00 and use this time to get to socialize and sometimes 
sell 50/50 tickets in support of our choral scholarship program. Rehearsals end at 9:00. 
The complete calendar is listed at the end of this note.

CHOIR FEES
The choir fees are $175 for the full year, non-refundable, due in September. We are able 
to accept cash, cheques and electronic transfers to pcnsomembers@gmail.com If you wish to
make arrangements with the Treasurer, Anne Bown (alto), to spread your payment over a 
few months, that will not be a problem, as long as it is fully paid by the time we sing 
the Messiah, early December. You can also e-transfer money to that address when purchasing
music.

MUSIC
The two big works we will perform this year with the NSO will be the Messiah and 
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (in German). You are responsible for acquiring your own copy of 
the Messiah and the score we use is the New Novello Choral Edition edited by Watkins Shaw. 
We have a number of the Beethoven scores on hand if you need one, $15 cash or e-transfer.
The edition we are using is Kalmus Classic K 06075. Part of the spring concert will be 
the Vivaldi Gloria and we will use Martens edition. The rest of the music for the spring 
concert will be available as soon as the program is finalized.
We are each responsible for learning the music on our own as much as possible. YouTube is
a great place to find your part in the big works. There is a website called 
Rehearsalarts.com where you can purchase (21USD) your part only of the Messiah and 
Beethoven and download it to your music app. You may find other sources that will help 
you learn your part.

ATTENDANCE
Regular attendance at rehearsal is very important. As soon as you know you HAVE to miss 
a rehearsal, DO NOT CONTACT THE DIRECTOR but instead please contact your Section Lead:
Soprano: Nancy Hickey, nancyannhickey63@gmail.com
Alto: Donna Marie Kelly, dmkelly@nl.rogers.com
Tenor: Dave Green, dave.w.green@gmail.com
Bass: Bruce Woodland, bruce.woodland@bellaliant.net

One of the jobs of the personnel manager is to follow up with choristers if they have 
missed a number of rehearsals. Ultimately it is up to the director to determine if the 
chorister is prepared for an upcoming performance. DRESS REHEARSALS ARE MANDATORY.

CONCERT DRESS
OPTION 1: Choir dress OR plain black to the floor (pants, skirt, dress) with sleeves 
BELOW the elbow. Black socks, stockings and black shoes. No leggings, no bling.
OPTION 2: Tuxedo OR black suit with white shirt and black bow-tie. Black socks and black 
shoes.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our board members are all volunteers and give up countless hours to help keep the day to 
day operation of the choir running smoothly. PLEASE show them respect always!
Current Board, elected positions:
Graham Wakeham, President
Elizabeth Wright, Vice-President
Pauline Brophy, Secretary, pcnsochoirsecretary@gmail.com
Anne Bown, Treasurer, pcnsomembers@gmail.com
Wolfgang Thomeier, Past-President
Appointed positons:
Janet Hewson, Personnel Manager pcnsopersonnel@gmail.com
Donna Marie Kelly and Ruth Wakeham, Concert managers
Lana Collins, Media
Christopher Williams, Librarian

PLEASE SAVE THE FOLLOWING DATES:

2023
Choir begins Thursday September 14th.
Oct 12th – Annual General Meeting during second half of rehearsal
December 5, 6 and 7 rehearsals with the NSO for Messiah
December 8 and 9 Messiah Performances

Christmas break

2024
January 11th we start again
March 19, 20 and 21 rehearsals with the NSO for Beethoven
March 22, Beethoven performance
March 28th and April 4th Easter Break
May 26th- Spring Concert
June 29th – July 4th HARBOUR VOICES Festival. More information about our participation 
in this festival will be shared as soon as available.

We all enjoy choral singing and we continue to see our hard work pay off with first 
class performances. Let’s make 2023-2024 our best season yet!

Your Board of Directors

Good news! The Choir is back practicing for a new 2022/23 Season! Thank you for your continued support and interest in the PCNSO.

Philharmonic Choir of the NSO Welcomes New Choral Conductor Stephen Candow

The Philharmonic Choir of the NSO (PCNSO) and the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra are delighted to welcome the new choral conductor of the PCNSO, Stephen Candow who has been selected to fill the position following a recent job competition. Stephen replaces Doug Dunsmore who retired as conductor in December of 2016.

“We are delighted to have Stephen take on this role with the choir, and bring his considerable talents and experience to the group,” said Hugh Donnan, CEO of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. “Not only has Stephen worked with world class choirs in Canada and internationally, he is also an accomplished organist, harpsichordist and pianist and has a good understanding of the various parts of the NSO. I look forward to working with him, and I know great things are ahead for the PCNSO.”

Stephen is a native Newfoundlander and Labradorian who has studied music and choral conducting in Canada and Europe. He has directed choirs in Ottawa, Toronto, Dublin and St. John’s. For full details see the attached biography.

“I am really excited to take on this new role with the PCNSO, and to continue to build on the choral tradition set forth by Doug Dunsmore,” said Stephen Candow, Choral Conductor, PCNSO. “I look forward to bringing some of my own style and ideas to the choir and to the NSO as a whole. There are some great opportunities out there that I think we can take advantage of, to bring the PCNSO to new audiences here in St. John’s and in other parts of the province. Through this we can develop a stronger relationship between the Philharmonic and the greater community.”

Recent Events

June 10, 2022 – NSO Masterworks 4: Salve Regina with special guests, The PCNSO.

December 10 & 11, 2021. Handel’s Messiah with the NSO and Kathleen Allan conducting.

Thursday, Feb 6, 2020. NSO Masterworks 3 “A Night at the Opera”

December 6 and 7, 2019 – Messiah at the Basilica with the NSO – An annual tradition.

June 9 2019 – Faure’s Requiem & Other Works – PCNSO Spring Concert – DF Cook Recital Hall, MUN.

March 22, 2019 – Carmina Burana (Orff) at the Arts and Culture Centre with the NSO.

December 7 and 8, 2018 – Messiah at the Basilica with the NSO – An annual tradition.

November 16, 2018 – Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (Borodin) at the Arts and Culture Centre with the NSO.

June 29,2018 – PODIUM ON THE EDGE Gala Opening Welcome – one of 14 choirs plus massed choir.

June 14,2018 – PCNSO Spring Concert with Special Guests Aurora Women’s Choir – Holy Trinity RC Church, Torbay.

March 23, 2018 – Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) at the Arts and Culture Centre with the NSO.

December 8 and 9, 2017 – Messiah at the Basilica with the NSO – An annual tradition.

May 28, 2017 – Joint Concert with Coro Vivo from Ottawa – St. James United.