Karen and Bill's
House Concerts
2009-06-24
Burns Club Singers
For more than a decade the Burns Club Singers have dedicated themselves to venerating traditional songs, including the works of Robert Burns, performing around Alberta and for radio and television.
The Calgary Burns Club began in 1976, and 20 years later Ron Pratt started the singing group with just six members. Since then the group has grown to thirty one, and already they have three CDs in their repertoire.
The Calgary singers hail from a variety of backgrounds, from law and construction to geology and engineering.
The group also boasts Cancer specialist Alex (Sandy) Paterson and renowned Canadian artist Bill Laing.
Many of the singers have colourful stories of how they landed in Canada. When Club President and retired Calgary sheriff Jim McLaughlin and his wife Joyce were first married, they moved to Canada with the intention of staying no more than two years. However they loved their new home so much their"extended honeymoon" has been stretched to 40 years and includes three children.