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The Elmer Iseler Singers began their close friendship with composer Eleanor Daley in the late 1980s with a chance meeting at Warner Chappell Music in Toronto, where Maura McGroarty, the Choral Specialist, introduced Eleanor, a classmate from Queen’s University, to Lydia Adams when both Eleanor and Lydia were ‘in the stacks’ looking for music for their respective choirs.

That introduction started a world of wonderful music creation and performance, including Elmer Iseler conducting the premiere performance of Eleanor’s landmark work, ‘Requiem’, at the Festival of the Sound in Eleanor’s home town of Parry Sound, Ontario in 1993.

Rebecca Whelan, soprano soloist for Eleanor in her wonderful Fairlawn Avenue Church Choir, and soloist for Elmer Iseler in the Toronto premiere performance and on the Amadeus Choir’s defining recording of ‘Requiem’, has described Eleanor’s writing with these words. “Eleanor has an amazing way of getting to the heart of every song she writes. The flow, the rhythm, the line, the chordal structures, they all lend a beautifully sensitive voice to the poetry. Like an extension of the poetry itself.”

Eleanor worked closely with Lydia Adams and the Amadeus Choir, and with Linda Beaupré and the Bach Children’s Chorus for many years as the accompanist (and unofficial resident composer/arranger) of both choirs.

These early performances by all three choirs, and the quintessential recording of ‘Requiem’ by the Amadeus Choir were great collaborations and led to many performances, recordings and touring of Eleanor’s music throughout Canada and the U.S, showcasing her music to Canada and to the world.

We are so fortunate to have Eleanor Daley in our lives and to experience her beautiful music and all that she imbues.

Here are a couple of photos from then and now with the talented Eleanor Daley.

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