User:Katiefelix2015/sandbox

history of the choir
The St. Clair Avenue Baptist Church Choir was originally founded the mid-1920's at St. Clair Avenue Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada and is the chancel choir of that church - although it was not until much later that the name 'RockSteady Choir' was adopted.

significance
The choir is significant in that it has operated continuously for over 100 years and shows how a traditional church choir can adapt and adapt to changing times.

development of the choir
From the 1920's to the late 1970's the original choir sang mostly traditional repertoire from an extensive collection of printed anthems and music. By the 1940's and 1950's, the choir - like many in the city - occasionally participated in live radio broadcasting of choral music. A sister church, Dufferin Street Baptist Church was also extensively involved in radio broadcasting and the two choirs were known to have sung together for this purpose on several occasions. As inner-city communities started to fragment in the 1960's, the choir was not as active due to falling membership. Revitalization of the choir was gradual and started in the mid- 1970's. By the 1990's, new directions in styles and genres of music started to be experimented with - leading to the current diverse mix of choral music with which it now performs. Musical accompaniment which originally consisted of the church's historic 1923 Franklin-Legge Pipe organ and piano - now is primarily by electronic keyboard. Its membership has varied from 10 to 27 singers over the years.

current name
The choir is multi-ethnic. While primarily African Canadian, it also consists of members from Canadian First Nations, South America, Canada and the Caribbean diaspora. In the mid-2000's the choir decided on their current name: “The St. Clair Avenue Baptist RockSteady Choir” or simply “RockSteady Choir”. The term "RockSteady" refers to their trust and faith. This name was chosen to be memorable, unique and to refer indirectly to the Caribbean background of many of the members - although any direct connection to the term 'Rocksteady' (referring to the Jamaican dance craze of that name in the mid-70's) was not intended. The choir decided to continue to demonstrate their distinctness by the whole-hearted adoption of the name 'RockSteady Choir'. The current membership is approximately 16 singers.

constituency and repertoire
It is a non-auditioned volunteer ensemble which has enabled amateur adult singers of all ages and backgrounds to share their voices both during worship services and for special occasions in and out of the church. Their present eclectic repertoire ranges from old-time 'Sankey' songs, through Southern Gospel and Country to Reggae and Ska-flavoured Caribbean-style Gospel. The choir has sung at gospel concerts and programs throughout the Toronto area. The RockSteady Choir is well-known in the West Toronto area and has sung at many local venues over the years. It holds an annual 'Choirs Concert' that invites local choirs to participate and network together. The most recent annual concert was in June 2016.

presence on the internet
The choir started posting music videos to the internet in the mid-2000's starting with postings on the GodTube website and currently has approximately 120 videos posted on the YouTube website.

current director
The current Choir Director - Brian James Wallace - took over the leadership in April 1979.