Amity Singers

Amity Singers

Amity Singers. Mixed 25-voice choir begun in 1960 as the Varsity Singers of the University of Victoria under conductor Rodney R.A. Webster. Graduating members decided to continue the group ca 1963 under the name Amity Singers. Initially the choir specialized in folk songs, with much of its repertoire arranged by Webster, and performed primarily in Victoria's Butchart Gardens for public summertime concerts. The later group performed a wider repertoire including both a cappella works and works with orchestral accompaniment. The Amity Singers gave the premiere performances of Imant Raminsh's The Face of the Mountain (1980), which was broadcast on CBC radio, and of Charles Palmer's Fancy's Knell (1983). The choir was funded by the British Columbia Cultural Fund and the Canada Council and its conductors were Webster 1960-9, George Corwin 1969-74, Timothy Vernon 1974-5, Jon Washburn 1975-80, Bruce Pullan 1980-4, and Michael Gormley 1985-9. The Amity Singers disbanded in 1989.