Concert brought back many memories

The Men of the Deeps is a coalmining chorus that has been entertaining audiences for over 50 years and their recent performance at the Miners Museum in Glace Bay proved to be the highlight of the summer for many in the audience.

This choral ensemble was joined on stage by Lorna MacDonald and Peter MacDonald.

MacDonald is a Professor of Voice and the Lois Marshall Chair in Voice Studies at the University of Toronto. This lady is proud of her Cape Breton roots. She returns to her little seaside village of Port Morien every summer and often shares her musical talents at various venues throughout the island.

In addition to her musical gifts, MacDonald is just so darn nice.

When these singing miners walked into the darkened venue wearing their signature overalls and helmets, the audience just knew that they were in for a wonderful evening. They certainly weren’t disappointed.

A show of hands indicated that many in the audience were tourists visiting our beautiful island. One lady arrived on our shores from South Wales, which is another community rich in mining folklore.

For me, the highlight of the evening was their rendition of “Immigrant Eyes.” Like many Cape Bretoners, I come from a coalmining family. My father was a coal miner along with many of my uncles. My grandfather was one of those immigrants who came from Italy to earn his living in the coal fields of Cape Breton.

When I was growing up, most of my friends had fathers who worked in the “pit.” We certainly didn’t live in the “lap of luxury” but we never went hungry. Just looking at these miners and listening to their stories brought back many childhood memories.

Director Stephen Muise grew up surrounded by this musical group as his father is a member. He shared his memories of coming to performances as a young child. This gentleman is a music teacher with our local school board and credits an interest in music to growing up under the wings of the Men of the Deeps.

Jim MacLellan is one of the founding members of the group. He shared stories and jokes about living in a coal-mining community that certainly had the audience laughing and smiling.

Their rendition of “Working Man” was so powerful. The lyrics begin with “It’s a working man I am and I’ve been down underground.” Many of our Cape Breton families are here today because of their fathers and grandfathers who have gone down underground to make a living for their families. It’s our proud heritage.

The performance concluded with Lorna MacDonald and Jack MacQueen singing “We Rise Again” ¬ almost an anthem in Cape Breton.

The audience left the theatre with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts.

The Men of the Deeps have a few performances left in Cape Breton and they have a fall tour lined up for Ontario. They are great ambassadors for Cape Breton. Yvonne Kennedy Homeville