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Who are they?
Reachout is a special choir of
Chalmers Presbyterian Church in London, Ontario. Founded in 1973, the choir
has never boasted any professional singers of any sort, but is made up of
ordinary people who love to sing and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in song.
These talented singers never use |
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“hard copy” music in their presentations,
but prefer to memorize their harmonies and songs to allow them to better
achieve the contact that they desire with their audiences. The result is an
exciting, dynamic group who reach out to their audience in a way many choirs
only wish they could. Their ages range from teenage to “getting on a bit”
and much of the time the choir behaves more like a family than a choir. |
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What do they do?
Most,
but not all, of the calls for Reachout’s special brand of music comes from
smaller churches wishing to celebrate a special event such as an
anniversary…. Churches that perhaps don’t have a choir of their own or who
simply want something a little different. But they also sing in hospitals,
nursing homes, and even shopping malls. Reachout asks no fee for singing, but
if the distances involve driving for more than an hour or so, then travelling
expenses are usually accepted.
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History
Reachout
was conceived in the summer of 1973. Armed with exciting new music from a
presentation by Jimmy and Carol Owen called “Come Together”, Tom Hunter,
(a soon to be choir leader), began recruiting people from the congregation in
Chalmers Presbyterian Church, London, Ontario. The purpose of this recruiting
drive was to form a small choir to present this music to their own
congregation. One of the most amazing things about this event was that no one
who was approached to participate, refused. Organist/pianist, narrator and
singers all said yes, they would love to do it. And do it they did.
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From the
start, Tom decided that they must learn the music and not rely on reading it
during the presentation. This was quite a challenge for most, and even more so
for those who could not read music. Rehearsals began in the fall of 1973 and
by spring they were ready.
From the beginning, the choir intended to make only one presentation, but
when this small, new and very shaky choir was offered the chance to take its
presentation to other nearby churches, they jumped at
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| the chance. And so Reachout was born. To date Reachout has made hundreds of
presentations all over Southern Ontario and as far north as North Bay. In 1993
they completed a very successful tour of Scotland to celebrate their 20th
year together. They completed 14 engagements in 16 days. It was a unique
experience for the choir to be able to share their message in song with the
inmates of Saughton Prison in Edinburgh, to sing in 400year old churches and
in the Royal Chapel in Falkland Palace on the spot where kings and queens
worshipped centuries before. The tour was such a success that the choir
returned to Scotland in 1997 and completed another successful “Islands and
Highlands” tour. One of the highlights of which was to sing in the Abbey on
the island of Iona 1400 years after St Columba began the spread of
Christianity throughout Scotland.
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Why they do what they do
As
the majority of their audiences are what one might call practicing Christians,
it would be easy to conclude that Reachout’s function is purely one of
entertainment. This would be an erroneous conclusion indeed. Just as a regular
minister or preacher of the gospel tries weekly to bring a message of hope to
the congregation, so too, does Reachout attempt to bring
words of encouragement and
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enthusiasm to those who need such a word. Music is one of
the most powerful mediums we have to express our faith
...I
quote
Next
to the word of God
Music
deserves the highest praise
The
gift of language combined with
The
gift of song was given to man
That
he should proclaim the word of God
Through
music
….
Luther
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Type
of Music
Reachout’s
music is exciting, Contemporary Gospel from the pens of such writers as: Jimmy
& Carol Owen, John W. Peterson, Steve Fry, Gordon Jenson, Phil & Lynne
Brower, Don Wyrtzen and also includes many pieces specially written by their
own Director/Leaders, Tom &
Christine Hunter. All of their presentations, which have a performance time of
around 50 mins., include narration linking their beautiful songs with gospel
readings and thought provoking messages.
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For
bookings or further information contact
e-mail:
Tom
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