Choir’s founding conductor lays down the baton after 36 years
On March 31, the Guelph Chamber Choir (GCC) performed a farewell concert for their founding conductor, Gerald Neufeld, who has been with the choir for 36 of its 38 years. Held at the River Run Centre, the concert featured one of Neufeld’s favourite works, Brahms’ A German Requiem.
Neufeld, who has had a love for choral music all his life, told The Ontarion in a phone interview how he joined the GCC: “Back in 1980, I was teaching at the University of Guelph and a group of community [members] formed a board and advertised for a conductor of a chamber choir that they wanted to establish,” said Neufeld. “So I applied and was the lucky guy who got to work with them.” When asked whether he has a favourite memory from his time with the GCC, Neufeld said he has “too many after 36 years.” Neufeld still enjoys every show, even the ones he’s done repeatedly: “Every year, we do [Handel’s] Messiah, and I still enjoy it after over 30 times.”Neufeld also recounted other highlights of his time with the GCC, including trips to Austria, the Czech Republic, and England; performing in cathedrals; and performing in the Guelph Spring Festival.
He also recalled performing in the ’90s at the then-new River Run Centre: “We did the first major concert in the River Run Centre with a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana, which was certainly a memorable occasion. The River Run Centre was hardly [finished]. I mean, the structure was there, but there was no sound shell, the floor was just cement. We were just happy to be in there.”
Neufeld will continue to act as the Guelph Chamber Choir’s artistic director in 2018–2019 while the choir searches for a new conductor. The most successful candidates will perform as guest conductors at two concerts in the fall.
Photo by Will Wellington/The Ontarion