GCS was founded in 1991 with the help of the Guelph (Canada) Arts Council, to provide youth aged nine and up with an opportunity to experience a professional level of musicianship. There are now 3 divisions of choirs, all represented on this CD, Choir I, a treble choir of children ages 9 and up, Choir II, a more advanced choir of children ages 10 and up, and Guelph Youth Singers, an SATB choir founded in 1997 for girls ages 16 and up and boys with changed voices. Here are 21 songs with sacred music like Mendelssohn's 'I Waited For the Lord' and 'Lift Thine Eyes,' Handel's 'Awake the Trumpet's Lofty Sound' and Schubert's 'The Lord is My Shepherd' co-existing nicely with W.H Anderson's title tune, Newfoundland folksong 'Blooming Bright Star of Belle Isle, the Japanese children's song 'Hotaru Koi' and the African folksongs medley 'African Celebration.' Some light accompaniment. Guelph, and Canada, are beautifully represented by these talented choirs, and 'Bird In The Nest' is a powerful, impressive CD!

Guelph Youth Singers, Linda Beaupre, Conductor: The Wind in our SailsPride of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, the Guelph Youth Singers bring us this well-selected group of 22 songs, 14 written by Canadian composers. Favorites are Connie Kaldor's 'Wood River,' 'Strings in the Earth and Air,' the spiritual 'Little Wheel,' Franz Schubert's 'To the Moon' (An den Mond), the Canadian folksong 'The False Young Man,' Thomas F. Dunhill's 'April's a Lovely Lady,' the English folksong 'May Day Carol,' James Gordon's 'Song of Our City,' Bach's 'Ich Jauchze Mit Lachen und Schall,' Eleanor Daley's 'Rise Up My Love,' Engelbert Humperdinck's 'Evening Prayer,' Stephen Adams' 'The Holy City,' and the final cut, Allister MacGillivray's 'Song for Peace.' All songs are lightly piano accompanied. An impressive, spirited collection from the talented and beautifully-directed Guelph Youth Singers.