Photography coursety of Daniel Morneau (www.doublelightproductions.com)

Stephanie Martin, SMM's Director of Music

Prof. Stephanie Martin, B. Mus., M.A., ARCCO, is Director of Music and Organist at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Prof. Martin is a native of Listowel and has been Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts at York University, Toronto, since 2004. Her Bachelor of Music is from Wilfrid Laurier University; her Master of Musicology from the University of Toronto and she is an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists.Prof. Martin has been making music in Toronto for 22 years. For eleven years she was the highly regarded Director of Music at Calvin Presbyterian Church. She has also been the harpsichordist of the Arbor Oak Trio for 15 years. From this work a number of recordings have been issued. She also works with the Recordare ensemble, I Furiosi and the Toronto Consort. Prof. Martin conducts Toronto’s Pax Christi Chorale, an 85 voice oratorio choir who perform masterworks with full orchestra and professional soloists. Married to fellow musician, Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill, she has performed duet programmes on organ and harpsichord. Performance and study have taken them overseas as well as to Toronto recital locales. Prof Martin has won the Lillian Forsythe Award for Church Music and the Leslie Bell Choral Conducting Prize.Stephanie recently won the Exultate 2008-2009 Choral Composition Competition. She is also a published composer and arranger. She is a fan of theatre and visual art and dabbles in Celtic harp.

2008 Professor Martin premiered a new motet written for St Mary Magdalene's: Ave Verum Corpus. You may listen to it here.

Stephanie being interviewed about the SMM Willan Weekend on Studio Sparks with Eric Friesen this past February.

Choir Sample Clips (Mp3s)

Date	Title	Composer	Performer	Length
27 March 2008	Drop Slow Tears	Stephanie Martin	Gallery Choir	2:05
8 May 2008	I Beheld Her	Healey Willan	Gallery Choir	2:23
24 April 2008	O Sacrum Convivium	Tallis	Gallery Choir	3:32

The Choirs of SMM

SMM boasts three choirs: the SMM Singers, the Ritual Choir, and the Gallery Choir. All three are completely volunteer choirs which maintain a superior level of performance through the dedication of their members. The division of the choirs reflects their varied roles and repertoire. The SMM Singers meet before the 9.30 Mass (Modern Language rite) to rehearse. Membership in the group is informal; people sing when they can. They lead the congregational singing of hymns, act as the cantor when the psalm is chanted, and also sing a motet before communion. The Gallery Choir, which sings at the 11.00 a.m. (Solemn) Mass, rehearses on Thursday nights. They engage a challenging repertoire of material including Motets and parts of the Ordinary of the Mass (such as the Sanctus). The Gallery Choir is joined at the 11.00 a.m. Mass by the Ritual Choir. The Ritual Choir chants the minor propers of the Mass (including the introit, gradual, alleluia, and communion sentence). If you are interested in joining one of the choirs, please contact Stephanie Martin through the Church Office for an audition. The Gallery and Ritual Choirs have produced several recordings available for purchase. Funds raised from record sales support the music of the parish.

Les Yeux Brass: Ensemble in Residence

Les Yeux Brass is an ensemble of five young Canadian brass musicians bringing a wide variety of experience to their art. From Jazz to Orchestral to Salsa, these artists have combined their eclectic experience into a remarkable fusion. The group provides occasional music for SMM liturgies, including outdoor processions (such as Corpus Christi) and Easter Day. You may learn more about Les Yeux Brass by visiting their website.

SMM Consort of Viols: Ensemble in Residence

Every so often, the Church of St Mary Magdalene also enjoys the talents of six viol players under the leadership of Joëlle Morton. For more information about historical instruments, please visit her website.

The Orff Ensemble

Here is a wonderful way for families to make music in church together, using easy to learn melodies, simple chords, using xylophones and glockenspiels. Add singing, movement and rhythmic speech and there are ways for all ages to take part. Under the imaginative leadership of Kim Kendrick, the result is a multi-layered soundscape that helps us enter into prayer and engage the Faith. Kim is a trained Orff instructor on Faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music. You can join in the Orff music-making at the regular 9.30 service as well as the Folk Mass.

Schola Magdalena

Schola Magdalena is a group of five women from the Church of St. Mary Magdalene who are dedicated to performing the music of the medieval liturgical tradition – from Gregorian chant to Hildegard of Bingen to the polyphonic masterpieces of Dufay.

The five talented singers made their concert debut at the Church of St. Theresa in Ottawa in July 2007 as part of the colloquium of the Gregorian Institute of Canada. Their performance garnered a standing ovation. The audience was captivated by the ethereal and sublime unison singing as well as the striking harmonies of the medieval tradition.

Schola Magdalena revives ancient pedagogical practices by learning music as an autonomous collective rather than following a conductor.

Photography courtesy of Andrew Macrae

Recent engagements of Schola Magdalena include Nuit Blanche 2007 at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, a recital at the Laurier University Chapel, Waterloo, in October 2007 and a performance at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene’s annual Festival of Chant in November 2007.

Future engagements include Nuit Blanche2008 at St. Thomas’ Church, Chantfest at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, and the 2009 Montreal Chant Symposium.

The Healey Willan Memorial Organ

The original organ in the church was built by Breckels and Mathews in 1906. The console of the "Old Girl" (as Willan called it) was moved to the gallery in 1931 by the Morel organ company. At that time an English Tuba stop with 6, 8 and 4 foot pitches was added. The Choir flute was then extended to play 4 and 8 foot pitches. Thus, Willan had at his disposal an English-style, Romantic organ that created what he described as a "silvery sound." Under Giles Bryant, the organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Alan Jackson and others (including Ross Trant). This work took place from 1971 until 1980. Mr. Trant has written an interesting arcticle about our organ that can be found here. Here is a quote from his article:

In its current state the Healey Willan Memorial Organ has three manuals and 51 speaking stops, having grown substantially from the 29-rank Breckels and Mathews of 1906. The original console is still in use, but the combination action is now electronic. ... Almost the entire instrument as it was known to Dr. Willan remains in use. A Doppel Flute on the Great has been removed and the 16' Tuba pipes have been replaced by a revoiced Trombone by S.E. Warren, from the organ at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Toronto. ... Summing up the tonal effect of the organ in St. Mary Magdalene's, it is an outstanding example of a church organ, especially suited to the English Catholic traditions. Its purpose, first and foremost, has always been to accompany the choirs, inspire the congregation in their singing, and generally to enhance the liturgy. The instrument achieves that purpose. (source)