WHO WE ARE
WBC Today
The 2024-2025 season marks the WBC’s 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a Century of Song. Founded in 1925 by the Men’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Boys' Choir is the oldest freestanding boys' choir in Canada. Today, the organization comprises three ensembles open to boys ages 6 to 21, dedicated to high-quality music making and vocal training in a nurturing atmosphere. Under the direction of Artistic Director Carolyn Boyes and Conductors Albert Bergen (Treble Choruses) and Spencer Duncanson (Senior Chorus), young boys and men learn the deep enjoyment that comes from working hard and achieving excellence as they rehearse and perform music of all genres, in many languages, with a wide range of expression.
WBC ensembles are regularly invited to perform with our city’s finest professional arts organizations. In recent years, this has included performances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, including Spring Symphony (Britten), Carmina Burana (Orff), The Spirit Garden (R. Murray Schaefer), Brother Heinrich’s Christmas (Rutter), The Snowman (Blake) and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Nutcracker, Carmina Burana). A highlight for the choir was singing A Ceremony of Carols (Britten) with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in 2015. Collaborations with the city’s finest choirs have included Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Canzona and world premiers of John Grier’s A Song of Joys with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir and Andrew Balfour’s Notinikew with Dead of Winter (formerly Camerata Nova). Guest artists a recent WBC Christmas concerts include sopranos Tracy Dahl and Monica Huisman.
In 2022, the WBC was invited to perform at PODIUM, Canada’s National Choral Conductor’s Conference (Toronto) and an ensemble of WBC Trebles performed Andrew Balfour’s Notinikew, featuring a WBC commissioned piece, at the Montreal New Musics Festival in 2023. The WBC toured to Ottawa (Unisong 2000 and 2017) and Minnesota (2024) and aspires to tour each season going forward. At the 2024 Winnipeg Music Festival, the WBC Senior Chorus was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Trophy for most outstanding solo or group performance of the festival.
Our youngest singers sing in the Junior Choir (Brio) and older, more musically experienced trebles sing in our Chamber Chorus (Vivo). Boys whose voices have changed sing in our Senior Chorus (Continuo). To learn more about our ensembles please go to here.
WBC ensembles are regularly invited to perform with our city’s finest professional arts organizations. In recent years, this has included performances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, including Spring Symphony (Britten), Carmina Burana (Orff), The Spirit Garden (R. Murray Schaefer), Brother Heinrich’s Christmas (Rutter), The Snowman (Blake) and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Nutcracker, Carmina Burana). A highlight for the choir was singing A Ceremony of Carols (Britten) with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in 2015. Collaborations with the city’s finest choirs have included Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Canzona and world premiers of John Grier’s A Song of Joys with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir and Andrew Balfour’s Notinikew with Dead of Winter (formerly Camerata Nova). Guest artists a recent WBC Christmas concerts include sopranos Tracy Dahl and Monica Huisman.
In 2022, the WBC was invited to perform at PODIUM, Canada’s National Choral Conductor’s Conference (Toronto) and an ensemble of WBC Trebles performed Andrew Balfour’s Notinikew, featuring a WBC commissioned piece, at the Montreal New Musics Festival in 2023. The WBC toured to Ottawa (Unisong 2000 and 2017) and Minnesota (2024) and aspires to tour each season going forward. At the 2024 Winnipeg Music Festival, the WBC Senior Chorus was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Trophy for most outstanding solo or group performance of the festival.
Our youngest singers sing in the Junior Choir (Brio) and older, more musically experienced trebles sing in our Chamber Chorus (Vivo). Boys whose voices have changed sing in our Senior Chorus (Continuo). To learn more about our ensembles please go to here.
Our Journey
(1925-2025)
The Men’s Music Club was founded December 11, 1915 to “promote, assist and encourage a high standard in the art of music in Manitoba.” The Club sponsored the formation of the Winnipeg Male Voice Choir in 1916, the Manitoba Music Competition Festival in 1918, the Winnipeg Orchestral Club in 1923, and the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir in 1925.
The Boys’ Choir, led 1925-1940 by Ethel Kinley, achieved a reputation for unforced, natural singing, a tradition perpetuated by Kinley’s successor Beth Douglas 1940-1941 followed by Elsa HandeI 1942-1943 and again by Beth Douglas 1943-1951. The choir was operated as two choirs, a Junior or Preparatory and a Senior. After Douglas there were many conductors of both the senior and preparatory groups, among them Marjorie Colpitts. Donald Leggatt, Glen Harrison, Lucien Needham 1956-1958. Beth Douglas, with Frances Christie resumed leadership 1958-1962. Others have included Sydney Bryans 1962-1964 and 1965-1966, Keith Tinsley 1964-1965, Helga Anderson 1966-1974 and Ron Butterfield 1974-1975. In 1975 the choirs were merged under Ardythe McMaster, succeeded by Corinne Villebrun, Bob McPhee 1979-1982, and Patricia Rabson in 1982. The Men’s Music Club continued to sponsor the choir until 1986 when it became a freestanding organization run by a volunteer board made up mainly of choir parents. Many life-long singers and a number of professional performers have made their musical start with the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir.
Bruce Waldie, Joan Fransen and Cathy Horbas became the next directors before Lana Penner-Tovey and Carolyn Boyes became co-directors in 1998. Lana stayed in the role until 2000. Carolyn Boyes remains in the position of Artistic Director to this day, joined by Annelie Reimer (2007-2013), Larry Weckwerth (2013-2014), and Mel Braun in 2014. Spencer Duncanson joined the WBC in as Conductor of the Senior Chorus in 2014 and Albert Bergen joined as a Conductor of the Treble Choruses in 2019. It is interesting to note that the longest serving directors of the Winnipeg Boys’ Choirs were in their initial years of 1925-1940 with Ethel Kinley and their most recent years with Carolyn Boyes (1998-2025) and Spencer Duncanson (2014-2025)!
The Winnipeg Boys’ Choir gave its first-ever concert on December 28, 1925 in the beautiful Walker (now the Burton Cummings) Theatre. A decade later, the Winnipeg Free Press compared the choir favourably to the Vienna Boys’ Choir, recently heard in town. Many choirmasters believed “boys’ voices could not be properly developed in the West.” Fortunately, the success of the Boys’ Choir had “happily exploded this idea and proved that the voices of Canadian lads are capable of high musical accomplishment.” (Winnipeg Free Press, October 3, 1936)
For a century, the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir has been a place for boys and young men to express themselves through song: to develop their voices; to become musicians; and to build friendships. Many people have played a role in creating and nurturing this environment, from the music directors and accompanists, to the board members and managers who have worked behind the scenes, to the thousands of parents who have provided support.
The Boys’ Choir, led 1925-1940 by Ethel Kinley, achieved a reputation for unforced, natural singing, a tradition perpetuated by Kinley’s successor Beth Douglas 1940-1941 followed by Elsa HandeI 1942-1943 and again by Beth Douglas 1943-1951. The choir was operated as two choirs, a Junior or Preparatory and a Senior. After Douglas there were many conductors of both the senior and preparatory groups, among them Marjorie Colpitts. Donald Leggatt, Glen Harrison, Lucien Needham 1956-1958. Beth Douglas, with Frances Christie resumed leadership 1958-1962. Others have included Sydney Bryans 1962-1964 and 1965-1966, Keith Tinsley 1964-1965, Helga Anderson 1966-1974 and Ron Butterfield 1974-1975. In 1975 the choirs were merged under Ardythe McMaster, succeeded by Corinne Villebrun, Bob McPhee 1979-1982, and Patricia Rabson in 1982. The Men’s Music Club continued to sponsor the choir until 1986 when it became a freestanding organization run by a volunteer board made up mainly of choir parents. Many life-long singers and a number of professional performers have made their musical start with the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir.
Bruce Waldie, Joan Fransen and Cathy Horbas became the next directors before Lana Penner-Tovey and Carolyn Boyes became co-directors in 1998. Lana stayed in the role until 2000. Carolyn Boyes remains in the position of Artistic Director to this day, joined by Annelie Reimer (2007-2013), Larry Weckwerth (2013-2014), and Mel Braun in 2014. Spencer Duncanson joined the WBC in as Conductor of the Senior Chorus in 2014 and Albert Bergen joined as a Conductor of the Treble Choruses in 2019. It is interesting to note that the longest serving directors of the Winnipeg Boys’ Choirs were in their initial years of 1925-1940 with Ethel Kinley and their most recent years with Carolyn Boyes (1998-2025) and Spencer Duncanson (2014-2025)!
The Winnipeg Boys’ Choir gave its first-ever concert on December 28, 1925 in the beautiful Walker (now the Burton Cummings) Theatre. A decade later, the Winnipeg Free Press compared the choir favourably to the Vienna Boys’ Choir, recently heard in town. Many choirmasters believed “boys’ voices could not be properly developed in the West.” Fortunately, the success of the Boys’ Choir had “happily exploded this idea and proved that the voices of Canadian lads are capable of high musical accomplishment.” (Winnipeg Free Press, October 3, 1936)
For a century, the Winnipeg Boys’ Choir has been a place for boys and young men to express themselves through song: to develop their voices; to become musicians; and to build friendships. Many people have played a role in creating and nurturing this environment, from the music directors and accompanists, to the board members and managers who have worked behind the scenes, to the thousands of parents who have provided support.
From Past to Present
WBC 90th Celebration
Accomplishments
The Choirs over the past ten decades have proven their excellence in performance by winning many choral classes and trophies at the local Winnipeg Music Festival: John B. Somerset Shield (22), W. H. Anderson Memorial Trophy (6), Saults & Pollard Ltd. Shield (5), Lord Tweedsmuir Memorial Trophy (4), Lieutenant Governor’s Trophy in 2024 for the Most Outstanding Performance of the entire Music Festival. Artistic Director Carolyn Boyes has been recipient of the Michael J. Proudfoot Award awarded in recognition of a conductor exemplifying a passion for excellence in choral work in 2009 and 2020.
Vision:
To Elevate Voices to be Beacons of Light and Instruments of Harmony in Our World
Mission:
To provide a nurturing environment where, through the collaborative exploration and performance of excellent choral music, boys discover their passion for singing, develop musical proficiency, gain confidence and build lifelong friendships. By providing world-class training and mentorship, we prepare our choristers to be ambassadors of musical artistry and inspire our community through the power of choral music.
