After 37 years of faithful service to the parish, organist and choir director Wesley Warren has announced his retirement, effective January 1.
A search committee has been struck to seek a new music director and will be active throughout the fall publicizing the position widely and seeking applicants for multi-stage audition process.
Wesley will retire with many accomplishments. In addition to overseeing a complete overhaul of the organ, he also grew the choir from a small group of occasional singers into a regular, cohesive and tightly knit ensemble of a dozen or more voices, many with longstanding membership of a decade or more. In 2010 the choir won the Liturgical Choir category of the National Choral Competition, co-sponsored by the Association of Canadian Choral Communities (ACCC) and CBC/Radio Canada. Over his tenure Wesley also built an impressive music library of works spanning many centuries, saw to renovations of the choir gallery, managed recording projects and took special care in all musical aspects across a wide range of liturgies and special services.
In a letter to choir members, Wesley writes, "I feel that I am leaving things in good shape.... We have achieved many goals together, and it is my fervent hope that the music programme will not only continue, but flourish and expand with a new Organist and Choirmaster."
On a more personal note he adds, "Wendy retired 10 years ago and it is time for me to join her, we hope to travel while we are both healthy, and spend more time with family and friends; I am hoping to do some music composition."
Members of the search committee include the Rector (Fr Murray), honourary assistant Fr Jim Beall, wardens Bill Hallett and Diane Roussel, choristers Patricia Kell and Bruce Patterson, Gilles Leclerc, music director of Saint-François-d'Assise on Wellington Ave., and Wesley in an ex-officio capacity.