History

The Shoreline Chorus (Shoreline) is a 55 member SATB community choir based in Owen Sound, Ontario, under the direction of Ann-Marie MacDairmid. It was started in 1999. It is a non-audition group and anyone who can carry a tune, is willing to attend most practices and work hard at home is welcome to join. Tenors and basses are especially welcome. Students are also encouraged to sing and fees for students are waived.

Ann-Marie started Shoreline simply out of a desire “to conduct my own choir and sing music that I wish I had had an opportunity to sing when I was going to high school.”

Rehearsals are on a 12 - 14 week schedule depending on the season (Fall, Spring and Summer). They are usually held from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Wednesdays at St. George’s Anglican Church Hall, Owen Sound.

Fall programs have presented Broadway, Doo-Wop, Motown, Movie, Dance, Jazz and Blues, Christmas and American Bandstand music. Fall concerts are presented in late November.

Christmas programs include both religious and secular music. Shoreline performs Christmas concerts in Owen Sound and in other nearby communities.

Spring programs have presented a range of spiritual, gospel, African, folk, Canadian, the four ancient elements – Earth, Air, Fire, Water and ‘Travel and Remembrance’ themes. Concerts are in late May or early June.

Summer choir programs are ‘classical’ style; music by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Handel, Haydn, Faure, Copland, Thompson, Shearing, Weill, Barber and more have been featured over the past nine years. Concerts are presented at the end of August.

Spring and Fall shows are usually presented “cabaret style.” Choristers don't just sing for their guests, they also serve refreshments during the intermission. The shows are Shoreline’s main fundraisers and include draw prizes for a variety of donated items.

World travel has become a feature. Accompanied by some family and friends, Shoreline has toured in many cities and presented solo concerts, joined with friendship choirs, and sung in local churches, monuments and castles. Ann-Marie uses these travel opportunities for both learning by individual choir members and showcasing Canadian music, composers and arrangers. Destinations have been Cuba (2012), Holland (2014), Ireland (2016) and the Czech Republic and Germany (2018).

In April of 2020 Shoreline planned to travel to Spain, sightseeing and performing in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and points between. In mid-March, the trip was cancelled as a result of the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The preview concert planned for Thornbury on March 28, 2020 was also cancelled.

The Shoreline Chorus is available at a nominal fee to churches and groups for special events. A few to mention are singing the National anthems at Owen Sound Attack games, providing music at the opening of the school house at Grey Roots Museum and concerts to raise funds for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.