Service, Concert to Mark Remembrance Day
November 05, 2007 - News Release
The University of Guelph will hold its annual Remembrance Day Service Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in War Memorial Hall. In addition, there will be a Nov. 10 "In Remembrance" concert at the River Run Centre that will feature two University choirs.
The Nov. 9 campus service, which will be broadcast on TV monitors in the University Centre’s Centre Six area, will feature a welcome address by Nancy Sullivan, vice-president (finance and administration) and readings by a variety of students, staff, faculty and alumni.
Musical selections will be performed Thursday by the U of G Chamber Choir, conducted by Prof. Marta McCarthy, School of Fine Art and Music.
The procession to the chapel will be led by Sullivan and RCMP superintendent Ron Allen, who will carry the Rose Bowl — a silver bowl filled with red roses that has become a special symbol of the University’s history.
Donated by Guelph graduate Kathleen Dowler Riter in honour of a friend and faculty member, RAF Captain John Playford Hales, who was killed in France in 1918, the Rose Bowl is placed at the front of the hall and will remain there during the service. David Hales, a nephew of John Playford Hales, will share a letter that his uncle sent home from the front lines two weeks before he was killed during the service.
War Memorial Hall commemorates students who served in the First and Second World wars. The memorial chamber between the two entrances contains two stained-glass windows designed by renowned Toronto artist Peter Haworth.
The cornerstone for War Memorial Hall was laid in August 1923, and the building was dedicated on June 10, 1924. The building was a student initiative and made possible by financial contributions from faculty, alumni, government and the public.
Reserved seating is available for veterans by calling Leslie LaCelle at (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56954. Parking is available in lots P23, P24 or P44.
Although classes won't be cancelled for the service, the president requests that faculty grant consideration to students who miss some class time to attend the service. Supervisors are encouraged to allow employees sufficient time to participate as well.
The Nov. 10 concert starts at 8 p.m. and will feature the Guelph Chamber Choir and the Hart House Orchestra. The highlight of the program is Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, but a selection of songs that fit the Remembrance Day theme will also be performed.
"We hope this will be a performance the audience will remember for a long, long time,” said McCarthy, conductor of the U of G choirs.
McCarthy says the additional pieces have been chosen “to reflect Beethoven's concept that humanity needs to find a central core of integrity. The songs talk about the essential nature of freedom and peace, and as we honour those who enabled us to have this freedom, we want to move forward to have a truly peaceful society.”
The performance will include about 80 members of the University choirs, another 40 singers from the Guelph Chamber Chair, which is directed by Gerald Neufeld, and 100 musicians from the Hart House Orchestra, which is led by Henry Janzen. Soloists are soprano Sandra Tucker, alto Sophie Roland, tenor Lenard Whiting and bass Todd Wieczorek.
Tickets for the concert are available at the River Run Centre or by calling 519 763-3000.
