Voices of Hope: A choir of survivors

Living with cancer is one of the most difficult experiences a person can go through.

Voices of Hope is a local choir composed of survivorswho have made the brave step to focus on life and healing despite illness.

The people who come here are often self-aware, positive people, who want to help themselves, says Ginette Quintal-Solomon, one of the volunteers and founders of the choir.

They know that time is precious and they want to make the best of whats left. They are extraordinary. I learn how to cope from them.

They know that time is precious and they want to make the best of whats left.- GinetteQuintal-Solomon, Voice of Hope co-founder and volunteer

The choir rehearses once a week for two hours at theWellness Centrein the heart of Cte-des-Neiges.

In any given year, there are usuallybetween 20 to 25 members from various cultures.

There are no auditions, so some members come with experience, while others do not.

One of the volunteers, Michle Hekimi, trainedas a professional singer at a music conservatory in Geneva.

To share my knowledge with the choir is important to me, she says.

Everyone is welcome.

Were such a cohesive groupits marvellous, says Nina Cass, 92, the oldest member of the choir.

Beginnings

Voices of Hope started more than sixyears ago when Quintal-Solomon, a lawyer by profession and trained singer, proposed to establish a choir atHope & Cope, an organization that provides support to cancer survivors and their families.

It was a dream come true for Suzanne OBrien, Hope & Copes executive director, who had long wished to have a choir at the Wellness Centre.

After receiving OBriens blessing, Quintal-Solomon asked Vincenzo Guzzo, a trumpet player, to join as the choir director and Michle Hekimi as a soprano soloist.

All three together started the choirand, to their great delight, they were joined byMusicaCameratas co-founder and pianist, Berta Rosenohl, who volunteers her time and talent as an accompanist.

We are so lucky to have Berta, says Guzzo.

There are better choirs who have less accomplished piano accompanist working for them.

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The Voices of Hope choir performs two concerts a year: one in December, and another in June.

They learn completely new songs for each concert, repeating onlytheir theme song,I have a dreamby ABBA. Choir director, Guzzo, hopes they can produce a studio-quality album one day that reflects the diversity of thechoir members and showcases its best songs.

Presently, the choir only has women, but men are invited.

In fact, to fill the void, the choir hires four male singers from the Opra de Montral to join them for their concerts.

More than 300 people regularly attend these concerts, and proceeds from ticket sales go to Hope & Cope.

The concerts include solo performances by volunteers and special guests, namelyGino Quilicowho has performed with Voices of Hope for the past three years.

'Its about making music from the heart'

Membership is in constant flux some choir members return to work after finishing their treatments, some pass away, others have been there since the beginning.

Choristers can stay for as along as they want, says Guzzo.

If they come when theyre sick, they can come when theyre healthy.

Having lost his own wife to cancer, Guzzo feels a strong connection to these women, as do Quintal-Solomon, who has also lost loved ones to cancer, and Hekimi, who is herself a cancer survivor.

An enthusiastic member, Pierrette Lamothe, is grateful to be a part of the choir.

Several years ago, when one of her friends was fighting breast cancer, she discovered Hope & Cope and told her friend about it.

Little did she know a couple years later, she herself would also be coming to Hope & Cope for support.

Lamothe says that chemotherapy and surgery affected her respiratory system and vocal chords, a common side effect.

Some survivors say their voices are permanently changed. Guzzo admits he had to adjust and be more patient as a choir director.

Although Quintal-Solomon agrees it is sometimes a challenge for the choir to sound the way it should, she says it is still possible to make beautiful music.

Its about making music from the heart. Thats what makes it beautiful and satisfying, says Quintal-Solomon.

Its not the beauty of the voice. There are many well-known singers who did not have particularly beautiful voices, but they touched people by putting emotion and heart into their singing.

Lamothe says singing has helped her a lot.

Singing not only lifts up my spirit, but it also helps my breathing. I can hold my breath much longer now, whereas before, I was short of breath all the time.

• Read the full multimedia story: Voices of Hope

About the project

Cte-des-NeigesChroniclesis a collaboration between CBC Montreal and the Diploma Program of the Department of Journalism at Concordia University. Students from an online journalism course were asked to report on Montreals Cte-des-Neigesneighborhood.They were also asked to push their storytelling skills through the use of photos, video and information graphicsThe result is a wide-ranging look at the history of Cte-des-Neiges, its key attractions, and theindividuals and communities that make up one of Montreals more diverse neighborhoods.

• Journalists' biographies
• ConcordiaUniversity Visual Journalism program