The Bishop’s University choral scene, then and now
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
This past weekend, generations of choristers, the age gap between the youngest and oldest spanning over 60 years, performed three concerts in a tribute to the Beatles at Bishop’s University’s (BU) Centennial Theatre. Nearly 150 Champlain Lennoxville students and staff, BU students and staff, community members, and even a single highschooler, joined together in song in what was Co-Directors Fannie Gaudette and Jamie Crooks’ 25th year leading the BU Singers. Tom and Barbara Matthews, husband and wife, who sang together in BU’s choral group ‘Deep Purples’ in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, took a stroll down memory lane in a recent interview. Backstage, on the night of Dec. 2, 2023, Tom read out poetic encomiums to Crooks and Gaudette, then received an honour of his own.
1950s: The Deep Purples
“I believe the Deep Purples started in ‘54 or ’55,” recounted Barbara. The director was a chemistry professor, Dr. Wally McCubbin. The Deep Purples were named after a popular song of the era. It was a really nice group, Barbara said, everyone had to wear uniforms with purple blazers and grey bottoms, the women in skirts. The group had around 40 people in it, considerable since BU only had just over 400 students at the time.
“The Deep Purples were all volunteers,” Tom said; BU did not have a music program. McCubbin was very demanding and they learned a lot from him.
“It just seems like yesterday,” Barbara continued, many of the buildings on BU’s current campus did not exist yet, like the Student Union Building. Concerts and plays were held in the gymnasium.
Barbara remembers that they sang everything from classical pieces to the popular music of the times. A subsection of the group formed a quartet, of which Tom was a member, who accompanied themselves with guitar and banjo. The group traveled and performed in places such as Thetford Mines, Ottawa, and Montreal. “We sang at King’s Hall, Compton, too,” Tom said, and other local high schools.
Barbara is not completely sure, but, after her and Tom had left, the famous Howard Brown likely took over from McCubbin in the mid ‘60s.
Upon graduation, Tom taught in northern Quebec in Mutton Bay. After nine years, he and Barbara returned and Brown was in charge. Eventually taking over from Brown was Nancy Rahn, followed by Crooks in the late ‘90s, with Gaudette as his accompanist.
2023: Backstage
Tom addressed the BU Singers backstage before their last performance of the recent show on the night of Dec. 2.
“Do you remember last night when Fannie and Jamie stood up and thanked everybody?” Tom queried, “but nobody said anything to them… so… I have something…”
After emphasizing how pleased he was to still be singing with so many people of individual and collective talent, who all made the worthwhile sacrifice to put on this show, Tom read two poems, one devoted to Crooks and one to Gaudette:
Jamie Crooks
Who knew this show was cooking,
In Jamie’s fertile mind;
(I’ve sung for him for MANY years,
So many that I find
There’s somewhat of a ‘blur effect’
In sorting out the shows…)
He’s been our maestro sans pareil,
As everybody knows,
In every show he’s ever launched,
Both here and on the road,
(And those were trips we shan’t forget!)
We literally showed,
The very best that Bishop’s has
In music – song and dance!
So thank you Jamie for the Beatles,
Giving us this chance
To come once more together to
Do what we love to do,
And watch you from our first-class seats,
Singing, dancing too!
Tonight, we watched you watching us
We watched you like a hawk,
Directing us, correcting us,
(Occasionally not…)
For some of us, who show the signs
That time is creeping on,
The Beatles were quite radical,
When first they came along…
They shocked our parents, baffled critics
In 1962,
For what on earth could threaten more,
Than this song ‘Love me, Do’!
But thankfully for all of us,
None of them were right –
SO
We got to open with Magical Mystery,
And end our show with Good Night!
Yes, Thank you Jamie, for this show,
Our memories will last…
George Harrison knew ‘bout change and I
Shall ponder ‘All Things Must Pass’
Fannie Gaudette
Is there anything musical Fannie can’t do?
Just think about what we have seen!
Arranging our music, re-arranging as needed,
Nothing’s beyond her, it seems!
Guiding, supporting, leading and helping,
She’s never heard of – ‘defeat’!
Committed to get our production top-ready,
She remained, no surprise, quite upbeat!
Behind the scenes when we’re all so pressed,
To get our show polished and ready,
She worked with the techies, stage crew, musicians…
Remaining, of course, calm and steady.
There’s so much you give us, our very Dear Fannie,
You’ve even provided a band!
And very great skills in all that you do,
… But Fannie, I don’t understand
How often you know just what Jamie is thinking,
More often seem one step ahead,
Is it all likely, in terms of the Beatles,
You’ve joined them inside Jamie’s head?
Thank you, Dear Fannie, for musical gifts
You’ve shared with us all through the Fall,
Without you, I wonder if we’d have a show!
Yes, thank you, I’m sure, from us all
Tom’s surprise
Stepping forward after Tom’s poems, and urging Tom to remain center stage, chorister and retired BU professor Stuart McKelvie addressed the group. Noting that Tom’s contribution itself had not been recognized, McKelvie read out a limerick of his own:
There is a young noble vocalist named Tom
Who’s given some seven decades to Bishop’s choir song.
He also pens lyrics
That wow all the critics
Which is why we award him this nobel medallion.
McKelvie presented Tom with a golden medallion embossed with the word ‘lyrics’ to the enthusiastic laughter and applause of those gathered.