A massed choir event will be bringing together several Barrie church choirs on Sunday for the Christmas season while also raising money for the Barrie Food Bank.
The free concert on Dec. 17 will feature choirs from Collier Street United, Grace United, Burton Avenue United, Northwest United and St. Andrew's Presbyterian.
Sunday's concert takes place at Collier Street United Church, located near downtown Barrie at 112 Collier St., beginning at 3 p.m.
Voluntary cash and food donations will be accepted for the local food bank.
The concert will open and close with all of the choirs singing a piece together as a massed choir. In between, each choir will present two pieces of their own.
All of the music focuses on Advent and Christmas. There will be carols for the audience to join in on as well and an organ prelude and postlude.
“This is the second year we are doing this,” Sandra Ruttan, music director at Collier Street United Church, told BarrieToday.
“Last year, the United churches decided to create a massed choir event as a way of building up morale and celebrating singing again after the stress of COVID, which shut a lot of choirs down,” she added.
Ruttan said the first event was hosted at Grace United in 2022 and attracted so many people that the sanctuary there couldn't hold them all.
“It was such an enjoyable experience for the choirs and audience that we have decided to continue it as an annual event, this year at Collier Street United where there is more space,” she said.
“We are also being joined by the choir from St. Andrew's Presbyterian as a new addition — again, a boost in morale for them as they have lost their church building in the last year," Ruttan added.
As music director at Collier Street United, Ruttan says she's excited to be hosting this event and continuing to build a musical relationship between the churches.
“I am looking forward to hearing all the choirs sing, but especially to participating in the massed choir,” she said.
