Forte Men’s Choir’s 10th Anniversary Concert: A Decade of Harmony

A Decade of Harmony, Forte’s 10th anniversary concert, will be held on May 10, Mother’s Day, at 2:30 pm at the Kirk of St. James in Charlottetown.

Forte is a 16-member choir of male voices—two ranges of tenor plus baritone and bass—directed by Dr. Margot Rejskind. Margot is noted for her leadership of the professional Luminos Ensemble and Luminos Chamber Orchestra, and the Island Choral Society. Jacqueline Sorenson Young provides piano accompaniment for the choir.

A decade ago, Margot gave her husband Dick Bird an unusual birthday present: a commitment to create a men’s choir in which Dick could sing. In December 2015, Forte Men’s Choir made its debut, singing in the lobby of CBC as a contribution to the Turkey Drive. Its first concert, Let All Men Sing, followed in May 2016.

For ten years now, Forte has presented regular Christmas and Mother’s Day concerts, along with a number of other engagements. Over that time, Margot’s schedule has grown ever fuller: she runs three choirs, teaches, holds a full-time job, serves as President and Chair of Choral Canada, and raises a teenage daughter. After her husband Dick passed away in 2022, she considered stepping back from the men’s choir, but couldn’t. In a way, it was a continuing tribute to Dick—and it was, as she says, “just too much fun!”

Forte will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a program that looks back over the years. Margot has selected favourite pieces from the choir’s repertoire—audience favourites, songs the members loved singing, and her own personal choices—including selections from Les Misérables, Vaughan Williams folk songs and drinking ditties, Scottish and Welsh standards, American spirituals, a revival tune, and a lullaby. A particularly moving moment will be “Let the Life I’ve Lived,” an inspiring tribute to Dick Bird. The “Parting Blessing” will be sung by the dozens of men who have been Forte members over the years.

Admission is cash only at the door. For more information, follow @fortepei on Facebook.