ANN-MARIE MACDAIRMID Accompanist

Ann-Marie MacDairmid is a native of Thornbury, Ontario. She has an Honours Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Western Ontario.

As well as being an organist, she is an accomplished pianist, percussionist and choral conductor.

Ann-Marie is the founder, director and accompanist for the Shoreline Chorus in Owen Sound, Ontario. Shoreline Chorus presents three concert programs a year – fall, spring and summer – working in a wide variety of musical genres including Classical, Spiritual, Gospel, Jazz, Mo-town, Doo-wop, Big band, Worldfolk music, African music, Disco, Broadway and Movie music. In April 2012 the choir went to Havana on a Canada-Cuba cultural exchange.

Ann-Marie is the accompanist for the Owen Sound based vocal jazz group Cricket and is part of “The Retreads” an instrumental jazz group that plays at regular meetings of the Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary Club. She has served as accompanist for a number of other groups, including the Georgian Bay Concert Choir in Owen Sound and the Schneider Male Chorus in Kitchener.

Ann-Marie serves as assistant organist at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kitchener. She performs solo recitals and accompanies instrumental and vocal performers at St. Andrew’s regular noon hour concerts throughout the year. Her programming reflects an eclectic musical taste, the most noted being her “Hallowe’en Special”. Other solo organ programs feature themes ranging from dazzling pedal solos to ragtime to gospel preludes.

In the fall of 2012 Ann-Marie helped start a youth choir in Thornbury; the Apple Valley Youth Choir. She is the conductor and accompanist. The program is being co-sponsored by a local business and the Rotary club.

As a supply organist, Ann-Marie has played for many church services throughout Southern Ontario.

Ann-Marie is dedicated to community service. In December 2010 she was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Thornbury- Clarksburg Rotary Club for service in Rotary and other community organizations. In October 2011 Ann-Marie was nominated for an Owen Sound and Area Cultural Award in the Music category.