About us...

The Gloria Dei Chorale was founded in 1954 as a choir of the Christian Reformed Church of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. For the first twelve years, it performed primarily in that church on special occasions only. After the arrival of former director, Mr. William Bourns, the repertoire expanded, as did the membership, to include oratorios and masses, as well as Gilbert and Sullivan stage musicals and "Fiddler on the Roof". Performances of major works complete with orchestra, as well as full-scale musicals, were featured several times a year, and new members came from neighbouring churches throughout the lower Mainland of British Columbia. Since the retirement of Mr. Bourns in 1992, and after 25 years of service, the choir was directed by Mr. Gerald van Wyck for three years and until 2008 by Dr. Allan Cline. Commencing with the 2008-2009 season, our new director is Dr. David W. Rushton.

Over the past years, the choir has toured to the Netherlands five times - in 1988, 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2003.

News for 2009-2010 season:
GREETINGS to members, former members and prospective members!

The Gloria Dei Chorale Board is planning for another exciting choir year, full of singing, socializing and fundraising.

David Rushton, of course, returns as our director.  He and the Board are presently working together on music selections for the upcoming season.  Suzanne Klukas also returns as our accompanist. 

As we have done for several years, we will kick off the Fall season with a singing workshop on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 1:30 - 4:00 PM at the New Westminster CRC church (8255 13th Ave., Burnaby), followed by a potluck supper, which this year will be held at Hugh and Janneke Noort’s home (6888 Yew St., Vancouver).  Please bring a salad, hot dish or dessert.  Regular rehearsals will start on Monday September 14 at 7:30 PM at the New West church.

By popular request of the membership our Fall concert will be a performance of Handel’s oratorio “The Messiah”.  We will engage professional soloists and a full orchestral group. We plan for a Saturday evening concert at New Westminster CRC on November 21 and a repeat performance at a venue in Abbotsford on Sunday afternoon, November 22.  The Christmas season concert will feature a Cantata and will be held Sunday evening December 20th,  again at New Westminster CRC.  We will also repeat this performance at Elim Village on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

For the remainder of the Spring term we will organize a song centered worship service on Palm Sunday evening (March 28) and the Spring Concert, with a lighter music focus, will be held on May 15. Expect a brief birthday celebration during coffee time after the concert because we will celebrate 55 years of organized singing!

This is a good year to recruit new members and encourage former members to return, especially for the singing of the Messiah so we encourage current members to contact your music loving friends and associates.  The choir dues remain the same this year: $200 per member, $350 for a couple and $110 for a full time student.

We are looking forward to seeing you all in September!

Sincerely,
Your Gloria Dei Chorale Board

Thank you for your support of Gloria Dei Chorale!

We look forward to seeing you!