A Textbook is a Crucial Part of almost every Class

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9359 [post_author] => 23 [post_date] => 2025-06-17 20:04:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-18 02:04:40 [post_content] =>

Greetings and salutations! A little over halfway through my first term as the University of Regina Alumni Association (URAA) President, I often pause to reflect on how I am beyond honoured to be a member of an organization I have so much appreciation for, in an institution I greatly admire. This 50th anniversary is a monumental milestone that all of those involved with the University in the past half century can applaud.

My first experience with the U of R was in the fall of 1997 when I began my university education fresh out of high school. I recall thinking how massive the grounds were and how I'd never be able to navigate the campus, let alone my classes. Little did I know the enduring impact this institution would have on my life. I am privileged to come full circle and represent University alumni.

The members of the URAA are diverse and talented, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience in a great variety of realms. We proudly partner with the enthusiastic and hard-working Alumni Engagement team and others at the University, to offer sponsorships, advocacy, development opportunities, resources and events for students and alumni across the globe. I sincerely thank the other members of the Board, as well as the Alumni Engagement team for their continued service and support.

Little did I know the enduring impact this institution would have on my life. I am privileged to come full circle and represent University alumni.

We have so much to be proud of as alumni of this university. The U of R, along with federated colleges - Campion College, Luther College, and First Nations University of Canada - offers exceptional, post-secondary opportunities to more than 17,200 students. With an alumni count to close to 95,000, University of Regina graduates can be lauded for their first-rate accomplishments in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and beyond.

However, the U of R is so much more than just these incredible endeavors. It is HOME to so many. It's a comfort zone, inclusively providing connection and collaboration with fellow students and alumni, as well as with the greater community. It is a part of us, one that we can always look to for guidance.

A heartfelt congratulations to the U of R and to the URAA for fifty incredible years. In a world where society seems to change almost daily, the U of R has faced challenges and adversity with compassion, professionalism, innovation and strength. I am excited to see what the future may hold and am exponentially grateful to have held a small part in the fabric of one of the places I call HOME.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Murray, BA'03, BEd'05, MAdmin'22, President, URAA
President, University of Regina Alumni Association [post_title] => Message from Jennifer Murray, BA’03, BEd’05, MAdmin’22, President, URAA [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => message-from-jennifer-murray-president-uraa [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-06-26 09:19:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-26 15:19:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.degreesmagazine.ca/?p=9359 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9371 [post_author] => 23 [post_date] => 2025-06-17 20:30:47 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-18 02:30:47 [post_content] =>

The University of Regina Chamber Singers are celebrating 50 years of making world-class music this year. They're marking it with a reunion in August, complete with a performance featuring directors and singers who have taken part in the choir over the decades.

The top hit of 1974 was Barbra Streisand's, "The Way We Were," an appropriate sentiment as previous members of the University of Regina Chamber Singers reflect on the past 50 years at their reunion this summer. Established in the 1974-75 academic year, the Chamber Singers has given more than 1,000 people the opportunity for camaraderie and a high level of music making over the years.

"A lot of people who went through the Chamber Singers become music teachers. And because they had a relationship with the Music Department, they were able to recommend it to their students."  Vern Sanders

Vern Sanders came to the University of Regina that same year to start one of the first master's degree programs in conducting in Canada. He noticed the University had a concert choir but no chamber choir. Once he pointed that out, the Chamber Singers was born. "It's important to have a chamber choir because it provides graduate and other accomplished students with challenging repertoire and high standards for performance," he says. Unlike the concert choir, the Chamber Singers is an auditioned ensemble and is smaller in size (ranging from 16-32 members over the years).

Vern Sanders, the first director of the Chamber Singers, in Melville, SK, in 1975. Photo: Gail Fry

Sanders explains that during his time as director, the chamber choir was also used for student recruitment. "We would do concerts in communities and high schools to show students that there were opportunities to study music here," he says, noting that one departmental objective was to prepare students to teach music in the province. "A lot of people who went through the Chamber Singers become music teachers. And because they had a relationship with the Music Department, they were able to recommend it to their students."

Early on, the Chamber Singers established a reputation for excellence. In the late 70s, they were selected as one of only two university choirs in the country to perform at a music teacher's conference in Newfoundland. The accolades continued over the decades. Kathryn Laurin recounts that, during her time as director (1985-2005), the group won several prestigious CBC choir competitions, recorded CDs, were invited to perform at Chicago Symphony Hall and the American Choral Directors Association conference, and sang for Princess Anne when she visited Regina. The accomplishment that sticks with Laurin the most, however, was being invited to participate in an international choir competition in Wales in 1997. "We were competing against choirs from all over the world. The competition was very steep, but we won in our category! The students worked really hard; it was a great feeling of accomplishment for all of us. That was one of the experiences I will remember for my lifetime," she says.

Chamber Singers performing at the National Eisteddfod of Wales festival, in 1997, where they placed first in their category. Photo courtesy of National Eisteddfod of Wales.

The memory of the Wales performance was the impetus for the Chamber Singers reunion. "One of my former students posted on Facebook that it has been 28 years since we went to Wales and she asked, 'Isn't it time for a Chamber Singers reunion?' I replied, 'If you plan it, I will come,'" laughs Laurin. Melissa Morgan, current Director of Choral Activities at the University, chimed in that this year marks the U of R's 50th anniversary, so if ever there were a time to have a reunion, it's now. Corinne Pirot, the former student who had playfully asked the question, immediately started reaching out to other past choir members and directors. Her plan was a backyard barbecue, but there was so much interest that the casual get-together turned into a three-day event involving almost 50 singers coming from as far as Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, the U.S. and Europe.

In addition to social activities, the reunion will include six hours of rehearsal and a public performance with host conductor Morgan and guest conductors Laurin, Jean-Marie Kent and Brett Scott-all former Chamber Singers directors.

Several weeks before the reunion, Pirot sent each participant 12 pieces of music to learn. "It won't be different than it was back then-there's the expectation that you come knowing your music and be prepared to do the same quality of repertoire," she says. In addition to social activities, the reunion will include six hours of rehearsal and a public performance with host conductor Morgan and guest conductors Laurin, Jean-Marie Kent and Brett Scott-all former Chamber Singers directors.

The 2024-25 Chamber Singers, directed by Melissa Morgan. Photo: U of R Photography Dept

The public performance of the Chamber Singers alumni takes place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 10, 2025, at the Blessed Sacrament Parish, 2049 Scarth Street, in Regina. All are welcome.

Pirot says the reunion is an important opportunity to reconnect. "When you work that closely with people for that amount of time, you really get to know each other, especially the group that went to Wales. It will be amazing to be back with the people I spent some of my best years with."

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