Arts and Entertainment

Orangeville Show Chorus to present ‘A Hallmark(ish) Christmas’ at Westminster

November 20, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Master director of the Orangeville Show Chorus (OSC), Joan Borden, was very pleased to talk about their upcoming Christmas tale and concert at Westminster United Church on Nov. 29.

There will be two shows, taking place at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

This will be Borden’s last concert as master director – a bittersweet time for her, which she shares later in this piece.

There are good reasons for doubling the performance on a single day, for this concert is taking an unusual approach with a choir to deliver the spirit of Christmas.

“We’re recording a created ‘Hallmark’ story, with photos on a large screen and the music to match,” Borden explained.

As the heartwarming tale unfolds, David Nairn narrates.

A girl living in the city comes home to the country. Laurie Moore, who taught arts at Alton Public School, gave some guidance to the project, as the story continues from the girl coming home because the dog is sick to her reconnection with a high school boyfriend.

“The rest is all Hallmark.” Borden said with a smile.

Hallmark was a new idea for the OSC, and a team of four, including Borden, wrote it, adding Nairn as narrator and Nicholas Mustapha as pianist.

The narration is presented as a voice-over by Nairn, which was recorded last week. There is a lot of furniture in the photos, with AI providing backgrounds for different scenes for the two characters, Holly and Chris, along with the dog, “Jingles.”

Borden, who’s a member of OSC, and her husband, who is not, are the faces of the story.

“Planning began right after our last show,” Borden commented. “We’ve named it ‘A Hallmark(ish) Christmas,’” she said with some humour. “Be sure to include the ‘(ish)’.”

David Nairn is also performing a reading of ‘Twas the Night before Christmas in person.

OSC is an a acapella female choir affiliated with the Sweet Adelines organization. Borden joined the Sweet Adelines in 1979.

They participate in community events, especially at this time of year, and will sing during Christmas in the Park in Kay Cee Gardens and at the Christmas Tree Lighting at Orangeville Town Hall on Nov. 21.

Borden described a Christmas favourite for the OSC: the Christmas caravan, for which they board a bus to sing at various long-term care homes, such as Chartwell Montgomery Village, the Avalon, and Dufferin Oaks.

She enthused, “They love it and we love it. We pack a lunch and have a great day. We did this once before COVID, and now we’re back.”

The OSC has about 20 chorus singers, which is good for them to keep learning and spending time with others who love singing, as Borden noted.

Pat Vipond, Joan Borden, and Anne Richardson have been with OSC since 1981.

What is special about being members with the OSC is that “we don’t see each other a lot outside of singing; our youngest member is 25 and our oldest member is nearly 90, and it just doesn’t matter. Together we are creating something magical.”

As Borden mentioned at the outset of this interview, this concert will be her last one as master director.

She feels it is time for someone else to add new life to the program and said, “I’ll take the chorus to our concert in May and then someone else can take over.”
As she remarked, “Forty-four years means I’m not the girl I was. This has been such (a) joy and wonderful opportunity. If you had said then I would be directing this chorus all this time, I would not have believed you.”

OSC’s board of directors wrote a tribute to Borden as she steps down, shared on the OSC website. The tribute shares their praise and reflects on her growth as a musician and director.

The board concluded in its accolade, “OSC has had many successful years under Joan’s creative direction and unwavering commitment, therefore astutely aware that her departure as musical director will leave very large shoes to fill. As OSC looks ahead to the future and its continued growth, our search for a new musical director will begin immediately.”

There are two performances by the OSC on Nov. 29 of “A Hallmark(ish) Christmas” at the Westminster United Church, located at 247 Broadway, Orangeville.

Borden assures one and all that the concert will “put you in the Christmas mood, the traditions mood for sure,” she enthused.

All the tickets are sold online at osc.choirgenius.com.

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