UPDATES TO YVETTE'S CHOIR AFTER 42 YEARS

YVETTE'S CHOIR GRADUATION DAY 22nd JUNE 2014

Hi Ben, 

This is the finale of my choir after 42years. It was a wonderfully special commitment I made and enjoyed all the years at St. Ninian's as volunteer and parishioner. Wonderful memories for me and All my Children and hopefully our congregation too over 42 years. The changing dynamics of church attendance, and the appearance of the frog in my voice-box signalled the graduation as I call it. I loved it all. Now numerous photographs, videos and wonderful letters and cards are the treasured keepsakes I have to remind me of a most wonderful era in my life. 

Just sharing this with you and all my family and friends.
Love Yvette

MY DEAREST FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
 
JUST SHARING ANOTHER MILE-STONE WITH YOU. THIS CAME AFTER MUCH DELIBERATION AND CLEAR THOUGHT mixed with some sadness, AS MY SPEECH WILL INDICATE. WE HAD A STANDING OVATION AND A LONG APPLAUSE....SO GOOD FOR THESE WONDERFUL CHILDREN. COME SEPTEMBER IT WILL BE SO DIFFERENT ATTENDING MASS WITHOUT MY CHOIR, AFTER 42 YEARS. I’LL SURELY MISS THE CHILDREN. ...a rest will do me good. Right???

HOPE ALL’S FINE WITH YOU ALL. TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS.

LOVE
Yvette

St. Ninian’s
Children’s Choir at 9.30am Mass today...Sunday 22nd June 2014
___________________________

Father Don, and Father Andrew ..... and my dear Friends...[the Congregation,

Today is Graduation Day.

Two of our Choir Members will be graduating from High School this week, and will be leaving for Higher Studies. So it’s Graduation Day for all of us as well.

I clearly remember that first Choir practice, 42 years ago, when 55 children, both boys and girls filled the choir-loft awaiting my
arrival. I was so overwhelmed to see so many faces that I immediately fell in love with them...the children who welcomed me to Canada and Antigonish. Yes it was the Children who made me feel most welcome over the years. ... I would become their volunteer Second Mother.

So here we are 42 years later, and here we are with six of the most wonderful children who have held and kept the Choir going for the past 5 to 10 years. I am in total admiration of their talents, their commitment and generosity in giving their time to the Choir, and in using their golden voices to help us celebrate Mass at our Sunday 9.30 Masses.

These children looked for no reward or praise as week after week, year after year they came to Saturday practices, and to Sunday Masses. I thank them with all my heart.

And of course, the Children’s commitment was undoubtedly fostered by the parents who brought their children to practices and Mass. I want to thank you ALL the parents for entrusting your children to my care over many years.It is your commitment that encouraged me to hang in there despite surgeries that made me BIONIC. Thank you with all my heart. Your children are now my children forever !

And then there’s You, the Congregation. Your presence at our
9.30am Masses kept us going, and encouraged us to delve into
Dramatization and Liturgical Dance to enhance the Gospel Readings as we tried to complement all the facets of our Sunday Masses in our song selections. I want to here, commend you for your singing as well. It took me almost 40 years to get to this plateau of getting you to sing with us in congregational singing, and I know from your responses that you love that little Brown CIS Book as much as we do.
Keep up the singing....it is healing and most prayerful.

Next, we have the accompanists. For the first 25 years we had Jimmy MacPherson. He was a treasure until he fell ill and Liz Curry came toour rescue. Liz has been our very patient and encouraging accompanist for over 15 years. Thank you Liz. You’re the best.

And what we do without St. Michael of Chestnut Street? He is the reason our Choir lasted for 42 years. We could not have done it without his help. Thank you Mike.

Last, but not least, we have Father Don and Father Andrew who came to us a year ago. We hope you liked our Choir endeavours.

Now, since it is Graduation Day, I can safely say that my vertical
commitment to sing as long as there were children who wanted to sing, or I started sounding like a frog....and you can already hear it and with the added talk of the possibility of the 9.30am Mass being cancelled .... I’d say that I have fulfilled my commitment !

Now, I am going to ask the Children to come forward and stand in front of the altar. Our High School Graduates are Maria Farrell and Meghan Chisholm who for 10 years gave the best years of their lives to our Choir. They are two very special girls as they evolved into Assistant Choir Directors and Guardians of our Choir whilst seeing me through my surgeries. You are both just wonderful, Maria and Meghan.

Then we have Audrey Chocrane, Kristine Farrell, Noel Fougere “My Main Man”, and finally Siona Chisholm who gave their voices and their hearts, with Maria and Meghan, to ALL of us.

YOU ARE ALL SO WONDERFUL, MY DEAREST CHILDREN. I THANK YOU AND BLESS YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND ALL MY LOVE !

And lastly, with Graduation come gifts. I have made gifts for All our Graduating Class of 2014 and for Liz, Father Don, Father Andrew and St. Mike.

May I ask the parents who will now help me distribute my gifts to
come forward and do the needful.

THANK YOU ONE AND ALL. !
I LOVE YOU.

Your friend,
Yvette Muise
Founder and Choir Director since 1972.

celebrant.........Father Andrew Boyd;
homilist...........Father Don MacGillivary....rector

 Love Yvette 

GRADUATION DAY FOR YVETTE'S CHOIR

 YVETTE'S SPECIAL COADY
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE CHOIR AT ST. FX UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 2014

Yvette Wrote a New Hymn to Our Lady of Good Counsel ... to 
Malaika Melody in 2014

Here's another sharing !

In December 2014, I was asked by our parish CWL Council to write a
new song to Our Lady of Good Counsel, patroness of CWL... [Catholic
Women's League of Canada] . We formed a choir to sing my song which I
wrote to fit the old Tanzanian Folk Song " Malaika " from the 50's
which is of world-wide interest. Malaika came alive for all of us
here in 2014. I feel humbly proud !!

I asked our nephew Stephen Muise to accompany us on the keyboard. He
did a grand job. Stephen embellished our song to perfection, keeping
the Cha Cha beat intact...and Mike recorded us and took photographs
in the lovely setting of our St. Ninian's Cathedral.

 We had great fun doing this, and the song is now forever emblazoned
on my mind. It is now just a lovely memory of friendships and
camaraderie that was generated in the making. Malaika has a new
meaning for all of us. Perhaps Our Lady loves it too. Eh??? Who
knows, if the whole world was asked to sing this song to our Lady at
any given time, what a resounding chorale song of praise would reach
heaven, honouring our Lady! My heart swells just thinking about
it.... great for " Malaika ", and the old Tanzanian Folk song writer,
and for us. Hopefully the Malaikas in heaven will sing our song to
our Lady on our behalf, and thus generate many graces to our way
come, including on all singers who might venture to sing it, World-Wide.

Lots of love and blessings
Yvette

The Nativity Pageant is about to begin.
Former choir members came back to 
celebrate our 40th Anniversary 
as players in the Nativity.

JOANIE BROUSSARD & TERRY CAMERON AS 

MARY & JOSEPH

WERE OUR FIRST CHOIR MEMBERS OF 40 YEARS AGO.

JOANIE BROUSSARD & TERRY CAMERON AS 

MARY & JOSEPH

WERE OUR FIRST CHOIR MEMBERS OF 40 YEARS AGO.

THE PARISH PRESENTED YVETTE WITH A 

BOUQUET OF FLOWERS 

HONOURING 40 YEARS OF HER CHOIR SERVICE.

FATHER TOM MAC NEIL JOINED IN 

THE GROUP PHOTO AT THE 7.00 PM 

ANNIVERSARY MASS WHERE HE WAS THE

CHIEF CELEBRANT.

FORMER CHOIR MEMBERS AND PARISHIONERS OF 

ST. NINIAN'S CATHEDRAL PARTICIPATED IN
YVETTE'S NATIVITY PAGEANT. 

FR. LAZARUS OF INDIA WAS THE CELEBRANT AT THE 9.30 AM MASS

ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

DOWN MEMORY LANE 15 YEARS LATER !

                     

LIZ CURRY IS THE ACCOMPANIST PAR EXCELLENCE 

REMEMBERING 30 YEARS AGO WHEN I MADE A BANNER FOR THE WORLD UNION OF CATHOLIC WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS
[ WUCWO ] 1983 . I WAS SO HONOURED WHEN IT WENT AROUND THE WORLD AND WAS ALSO USED BY THE CATHOLIC WOMEN'S LEAGUE OF CANADA ...[ CWL ] ON THEIR MAGAZINE COVER IN THE FALL OF 1983...Vol.61.No3..