Our Choir

The Chancel Choir leads the Ministry of Music every Sunday morning from the beginning of September until the end of June each year. This semi-professional group of choristers offer an eclectic repertoire, supportive of the Lectionary readings, week by week. You will hear anthems by Canadian composers, spirituals, global song, gospel songs and the traditional English anthems. Each year the choir presents two or three major works with orchestra. Humbercrest has long been known for the superb acoustics in the sanctuary and a tradition of fine choral music. Come for several weeks and you will experience thoughtful and beautiful worship. 

Our Organ

Our organ is a three-manual instrument from the St. Hyacinthe factory of Casavant Frères. It has 39 stops (31 of which are speaking), 21 manual couplers, 13 manual registration pistons, 4 general toe pistons and a full organ piston. There are nearly 2,000 speaking pipes, varying in length from 3/8 of an inch to 16 feet, and some 35 miles of copper wire used in its construction.

The 3 keyboards from the bottom up are the Choir, the Great and the Swell, each with its own complement of stops. These organs may be played either alone or against each other, or coupled together. At the organist’s feet is still another keyboard which mostly plays the bass.

The entire organ is contained behind the grills in the west hall of the chancel. The Swell and Choir organs are encased in separate chambers but the Great and Pedal organs are not so enclosed and speak with greater authority. Above the Pedal organ are 3 tilting pedals or shoes. The 2 on the left control the expression shutters on the Choir and Swell organs, while the third, call the crescendo pedal, adds volume to the whole organ by adding a stop at a time as it is depressed.

During our regular season, the Schulmerich Carillon can be heard each Sunday morning before the Organ Prelude begins. It plays from the cupola on the east wing and can be heard throughout the immediate neighbourhood.