Lift every voice and sing! The Toronto Mass Choir returned to the stage, and what an occasion it was!

BY PAUL JUNOR

The Toronto Mass Choir (TMC) as a Canadian gospel music group continues to make musical waves on the local, national, and international stage. Since its formation in 1988, it has successfully been able to blend contemporary gospel, traditional gospel, and Caribbean music in its performances.

According to its website; https://tmc.ca, it is a “Combination of gospel lyrics with a variety of musical styles that has resulted in a style unique in Canada.”  It was in April 1990 that it released its debut album titled, “Great is the Glory,” on the Mich Communications label. Subsequently, in 1994, it released its second live recording, “God is our Hope,” which culminated with a Juno nomination in April 1998 for its album, “Follow Him.”  Another album, “Instrument of Praise,” was released in February 2002.

The Gospel Music Association Canada (GMAC) recognized TMC with the Covenant Award for Best Urban/Contemporary Gospel in 2002. In 2003 it received a Juno Award for Contemporary/Gospel Album of the Year, the Vibe Award for Urban/Soul Album of the Year, and the Urban Music Association of Canada Award for Gospel Recording of the Year. In addition to performances across Canada, the United States, TMC has showcased its unique musical styles in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Dominican Republic, Italy, Trinidad, Barbados, and the United Kingdom. They have performed at festivals such as the Ottawa Bluesfest, Quebec’s La Festival de Musique Sacree de Saint-Rock, the Toronto Jazz Festival, and with many orchestras across Canada.

I interviewed Karen Burke, Artistic Director of the TMC. She shared with me details about how she and her husband, Oswald Burke founded the choir. The seed of its genesis was birthed as a result of its first live recording concert that took place in October 1988 as part of the Association of Gospel Music Ministries. Karen serves as the composer and arranger of the TMC’s Gospel repertoire. She told me how she transitioned from being a high school music teacher to an Associate Professor in the music department at York University in 2005.

In many respects, Karen is a pioneer as she developed the first post-secondary gospel music curricular courses in Canada. In her 17 years at York University, she has taught a range of courses, and over the years, she has conducted gospel music workshops in Canada and abroad and during February, she is involved with the Power Up conference. She is also involved with the York University Gospel Choir, which has its first concert in two years on Saturday, April 9^th, 2022.

Her family is very important to her, and she credits the success of TMC to the grace of God and the people of God. Having healthy relationships is central to her work as a: parent, composer, arranger, conductor, leader, choir director, teacher, and Christian worker.

Karen states, “Toronto Mass Choir is proof that Gospel music is alive and well in Canada. It has been our privilege to share the Good News of the Gospel for over 30 years.”

On Saturday, March 26^th, 2022, the TMC held a celebration of Gospel music to mark its live-stage return, which was live-streamed at Kingdom House Christian Centre in Brampton. The concert was the first performance of the TMC since March 2020 and they were so excited to begin accepting concert engagements again!

“Our first big concert in over two years is a culmination of our hopes and desires and is exciting for all of us!”

The concert featured the 40 members of the choir, supported by a six-piece band, local gospel artists as well as Juno Award nominee Patricia Shirley, Kerroy Williams, and Renee Rowe. Lift every voice and sing indeed!