Movie Music Memories at L’Amable Bible Chapel

May 27, 2025

By Michael Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The North Hastings Community Choir put on a spring recital called “Movie Music Memories” at the L’Amable Bible Chapel on May 10. A great variety of music from the movies was sung by the choir during this special performance, which got rave reviews from the audience, both verbally and by their rapturous applause. Admittance was by cash donation at attendees’ discretion. Sponsored by the Algonquin Arts Council, the event was a big success. For more information, go to “North Hastings Community Choir” on Facebook.

Fenner told Bancroft this Week on May 4 that despite a few weather-related cancellations on their Wednesday evening practices, they were prepped and ready to go. She said the choir had been together over 25 years and had approximately 35 members.

“We do two concerts a year; this one and another at Christmas time,” she says.

Fenner says that their choir director Melissa Stephens put together a collection of songs from the movies, both recent and from long ago.

This year’s show will be pretty much the same as prior performances, according to Fenner, except for the theme and the songs of course, and that they’d be accepting cash donations at the door for those who wished to do so.

The show was wonderful and everyone in the choir was in fine voice. Despite a small technical issue with the keyboard sound initially, the rest of the show came off really well, with the choir singing songs from the movies like Can You Feel the Love Tonight?, Touch the Sky, Movie Classics (a medley of classic songs), My Heart Will Go On, Cheek to Cheek, Moon River, The Shadow Of Your Smile, Puttin’ On The Ritz, Over the Rainbow, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, Love Is A Many Spendored Thing, The Best of Bond, I Say A Little Prayer, Hallelujah, and What A Wonderful World. Stephens and choir members providing explanations and contexts for the songs and why they chose them. The show went for nearly two hours, with a 15-minute intermission halfway through the recital.

In addition to Stephens, the choir consisted of sopranos Rebecca Armstrong, Carol Babb, Nancy Bruce, Alison Burger, Marlene Chapelle, Donna Chenoweth, Carol Giles, Alice Hoover, Gloria Leveque, Mabel McLellan, Sharon Penlington, Wendy Taxis and Helen Vermeersch, tenors Tim Baragar, Fred Henderson and Barb Tenthorey, altos Mary Burbidge, Susan Cooney, Laurie Fenner, Betty Goodkey, Lynda Mitchell, Lena Moule, Tammy Thauvette and Tania Weatherell, and bass Kelly Crick, Gary Hicks, David MacLeod and Bob Woodrow.

Kara Horst told Bancroft This Week that she thought the show was great.

“I loved it. It was very good. I loved the songs and I liked the piano accompaniment,” she says.

Cheryl agreed, saying it was wonderful.

“Very sentimental. Everybody knows every song and the nostalgia thing was really fun!” she says.

Clare said she comes to the recitals every year.

“I always love it. W usually come out twice a year when we can, in the spring and at Christmas. And this is Mothers’ Day weekend so it’s a nice Mothers’ Day treat for some people, and the nice weather for a change,” she says.

Bernice Jenkins thought the show was particularly wonderful because was very uplifting.

“I think in today’s world, we need that.

Even the arrangements, people know them. I couldn’t tell you the movies [the songs came from], but I’m going to go home and look them up and try to watch them. We take advantage of these shows. How can you get in on music like this for a donation. So anybody can come,” she says.

Stephens told Bancroft This Week on May 11 that she thought the recital went really well.

“Movie classics is a theme I have used with my other choirs and it is always popular,” she says. “I thought the audience liked the trivia questions.”