Achill Choral Society

Sharing Recipient Stories

2023 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$3,000

Sharing our grant story

The Achill Choral Society gratefully received a generous grant from Headwaters Communities in Action / Dufferin County to help us plan for our 40th anniversary celebrations this year.

Achill is a non-profit inclusive community choir of 65 singers and growing! Based in Orangeville, we rehearse and perform at the beautiful Westminster church under the artistic direction of Shawn Grenke, with collaborative pianist, Nancy Dettbarn. Special programming was made possible by the grant funds received, including purchasing new music scores specifically arranged for choir and string quintet. The addition of bass, cello, viola and violins (along with Nancy’s playing on grand piano and pipe organ) gave our audience and choir a rich musical experience worthy of the holiday season!

This year’s anniversary concert was also enhanced by the provision of a 24-page full colour keepsake programme. Local businesses showed great support in purchasing advertising. Also included were archival photos from our 40 years performing in the Headwaters community, GTA and overseas tours to Holland, England and Ireland.

The impact of our Orangeville concert could be measured in many ways. Our patrons enthusiastically bought tickets, and we were sold out one week beforehand. Some attendees travelled from Toronto, Hamilton, Dundas, Aurora, Newmarket, and Caledon, while the majority were from Dufferin. We invited all our past members to attend, and 35 were able to come and take part as the “Alumni Choir”, joining us in song for the rousing finale, Handel’s Hallelujah. Even our audience sang along with carols and a Hanukkah celebration chorus!

We received many messages of appreciation and congratulations: “It was a special day for me. To see and hear everyone together again made my heart sing.” “The entire concert was uplifting, and allowed the audience to forget the negativity of the times in which we live.” “Your concert just lifted me, so now I’m ready for Christmas!”

Our choir and its volunteer Board are proud of their commitment to providing rich choral experiences for our local audiences, at a time when, post-pandemic, all live performing groups are struggling to regain financial stability. We have a supportive community here in Dufferin and we’re confident that the joy of choral singing will continue to enrich many lives into the next decade.