PETERBOROUGH, January 8, 2025 – After thirty-five years as the founder and conductor of the Peterborough Singers, Sydney Birrell will retire at the end of 2025. Birrell, supported by his wife Pamela and an abundance of volunteers and staff, guided the choir from its origins as an informal group set up to sing Handel’s Messiah with the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra to a highly regarded, auditioned, stand-alone entity of upwards of 110 members. Under Birrell’s leadership, the Singers committed not only to musical excellence but also to the mission of being “a welcoming choir with a reputation of enriching and transforming lives through the learning, singing, and sharing of choral music in our community.”
“I love affirming people … I love seeing them succeed,” remarks Syd Birrell in a December 2024 interview with Pam and Syd about the choir’s history and the couple’s legacy. (For an article based on that interview, see “Enriching and Transforming Lives through Choral Music: The Birrells’ Legacy.” That impulse, as well as a good deal of creative, out-of-the-box thinking and risk taking, led to the development of the Peterborough Singers as a “deep community” – with special connections to many internationally renowned musicians and soloists.
Even the Singers’ first full season as a separate entity culminated in a concert that included world-class musicians and emerging operatic talent – a production of Carmina Burana with the Elmer Iseler Singers. Ruth Watson Henderson and Lydia Adams played the challenging Carmina piano score, and the concert’s soloists—Sally Dibblee, Brett Polegato, and Daniel Taylor—were at the beginning of very successful careers.
“We’re able to bring these top-level singers to Peterborough consistently because they always have such an incredible time with us,” notes Birrell. “They know we’re going to nail it. And they’re amazed at what a community choir can do. Even though they’re at the top of their field, they recognize the remarkable achievement of the Peterborough Singers.” Many guest artists remark, too, that singing here feels like coming home – to family.
Central to these strong and profound relationships were the years of struggle and then tragedy, as first Pam and then the couple’s son James were diagnosed with cancer. During a speech announcing his retirement, Syd thanked the choir for its devoted care during those heart-breaking times:
I want to thank you all for providing me with the privilege of thirty-five years of extraordinary music making, for supporting me as I presented you with wild and impractical goals … and for then making them happen, and for the support you have given me and my family through Pam’s cancer and then James’s cancer and death, and the dark years that followed.
As you might imagine, Birrell has planned his retirement carefully – and in the best interests of the Singers.
“I will be retiring at the end of December 2025,” he announced at Wednesday night’s rehearsal for The Music of ABBA. “My last performance with you will be Handel’s Messiah this coming December.”
The decision is entirely suitable, and though it doesn’t take the Singers full circle, as today’s choir has grown in excellence and size, it does give a nod to the Singers’ origin story – as well as to the central significance of this oratorio to our choral family. “If there is one common text that is central to the togetherness of this choir, it is Messiah,” comments former chorister Natasha Regehr.
I can imagine the concert even now. Not a dry eye in the place, but, as always, Syd Birrell will inspire his choir to a performance that is not only brilliant but has a unique ability to convey genuine and heartfelt passion and emotion.
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For more information about the Peterborough Singers contact:
Peg McCracken, Business Manager
705.745.1820 | singers@peterboroughsingers.
