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Welcome to the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir!

We are known as ‘Men who love to sing’.  We come from many backgrounds and have different levels of skill in music.  We aim to bring high quality choral singing to our audiences and encourage self-development through music among our members. 

Vision: The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir (COMC) is a respected amateur male choir that aspires to a masterful standard of choral music performance.

Mission: To give back to the community by providing a forum for men who wish to learn to sing or improve their singing ability, and who enjoy the camaraderie of working as a team towards the following shared goals:

  • promoting artistic excellence in the greater Hamilton area,
  • supporting the fundraising efforts of charitable organizations and service groups,
  • building community and civic pride.

 

We sing in four-part harmony (tenor 1, tenor 2, baritone, and bass) with piano accompaniment. Our repertoire is extensive and includes popular tunes, ballads, jazz numbers, spirituals, songs from musicals, opera choruses, hymns, traditional and folk songs.

Singing wonderfully right off the bat is not a prerequisite for us.  We are always improving.  ‘Practice makes perfect.’  It is surprising how good your sound becomes within a few months of singing regularly.

We are a registered Canadian Charity that has helped raise some $800,000 for service groups, churches, and other charitable organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and The Hamilton Spectator’s Summer Camp Fund.

Over the past four decades, the COMC is proud to have performed with many talented and well-known guest performers, including: soprano Abigail Freeman, operatic tenor Richard Margison, Carissa Kimbell, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Donna Ellen, violinist Martin Beaver, local Celtic bands Scantily Plaid and Steel City Rovers, the Blazing Fiddles, the Canadian Brass, and the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Concert tours have taken the Choir to Western Canada, the Maritimes, the United States, Continental Europe, Britain, and Ireland. We have performed more than 470 concerts in venues like Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, the Dofasco Centre for The Arts in Hamilton, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. We have even performed in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

The COMC was founded as the ‘Hamilton Orpheus Male Choir’ by (William) Lynworth “Lyn” Harry.  Harry was born in Wales and received his Bachelor of Music and Associate Degrees at the Royal College of Music in London, England. He was Music Director of Wales’s famous Morriston Orpheus Choir. After moving to Canada in 1975, Harry taught at the Royal Hamilton College of Music and established the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir in 1977.

In 2001, Harry was invested as an Honorary Welsh Bard for his lifetime services to music. Lyn Harry passed away in 2006. He is remembered fondly by those who sang for him.