About our chorus

The Thousand Islanders Chorus came into being in the early 1970's. When Harmony Inc. member Diane Ball from Montreal arrived in Brockville, she found that it lacked a Harmony chorus so decided to start her own. She became not only the founder, but also the first director of The Thousand Islanders Lady Barbershoppers which became a chartered chapter of Harmony Inc. in May of 1973. In 2005 we became incorporated as The Thousand Islanders Chorus. Directors over the years have included Lillius Lippert, Dave Carr (who became a sound judge for SPEBSQSA now known as Barbershop Harmony Society), Cally Tripp of Brockville theatre fame, Jane Dargie, Ann Foy (who has since formed a chorus in Elliot Lake), and our present director, BJ Vermue. Each of our directors has shared their vast knowledge, skills as well as spirit to make us the chorus that we are today.

Every April we compete in the Harmony Inc. Area 2 Contest in order to qualify to compete on the international stage in November. These two contests have taken us to such places as Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Florida, Saint John, Halifax, London and Montreal.

As Thousand Islanders, we have always shared our love of music by singing for seniors in care facilities, for festivals and summertime concerts along the St. Lawrence River, for church and community celebrations and by Christmas caroling while strolling Downtown Brockville etc. From the larger chorus, quartets are formed to sing on Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries as well as for CPHC (formerly VON) luncheons for seniors. The FourTune Seekers are one such quartet sharing a love for harmony. Our May 2008 concert, "Harmony Singsation," held in honour of our 35th anniversary was a resounding success. In addition to the music the chorus prepared, some former chorus members and other interested women rehearsed with us for several weeks to learn two songs for the concert. We invited other musical groups in our community to share the stage and to join with us in a final reprise for the song "Thank-you for the Music". What a musical sensation it was to hear so many voices lifted in song.

Honoured by a life membership for her 33 years of devotion to the chorus, Eva Brown says "the friendships formed with my sisters in Harmony both near and far are treasures of the heart. What a joy it has been for me to sing a cappella in the barbershop style."

Costumes, director’s fees, hall rental and music are the major expenses on our balance sheet. In addition to membership fees for the Thousand Islanders Chorus, we pay dues for Harmony Inc., the organization to which we belong. Though we prefer to earn funds by using our craft in musical performances, we do have fundraisers throughout the year.

Mission Statement

We are a vibrant, a cappella chorus dedicated to developing expertise in four part harmony in the barbershop style and to sharing both our music and enthusiasm through performance.