By Kelly Cryderman
Twice a week during lunch hour, Ed Chartrand puts aside his work planning for the 2006 census at Statistics Canada and heads to a conference room where about 60 of his co-workers are waiting.
Chartrand then takes charge by organizing the statisticians, methodologists and clerks in rows. Then he makes the command . . . and the singing begins.
“People say ‘Ah well, a civil service choir,’ but it’s quite different. Everyone’s a professional mathematician and understands measurement,” says Chartrand, who besides being a computer scientist is the head conductor of the Statistics Canada choir.
The choir has been practising for months for its Dec. 5 Christmas concert at St. Matthias Church at 7:30 p.m. It is singing a variety of Christmas tunes in languages from around the world including several Hebrew songs. Tickets may be purchased in advance, but are $12 at the door.
While the Christmas concert is one of two major public concerts given by the seven-year-old choir during the year, practice is an all-season activity. As the slogan on the choir’s summer performance T-shirts claims: “At Statistics Canada, music counts.”
Chartrand is not alone in his belief that mathematicians make good musicians. Benoit Allard, a methodologist and the lead tenor in the choir says “a lot of people say if you’re good at mathematics, it goes well with music . . . a good musician can count.”
Allard was always active in choirs around Ottawa, but when he had kids, he had to give up a lot of his musical activities. As a member of the Statistics Canada Choir, he’s been able to keep singing.
“It’s very practical for a lot of us because we rehearse in the workplace,” he says.
Together, the Statistics Canada employees refine their music skills and relieve stress.
The promotions manager for the choir, Mimi Gauthier, works as a secretary for Statistics Canada’s Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. She says the choir also relieves tension for employees.
“We publish a lot, we have a lot of deadlines . . . there’s a lot of stress on people,” says Gauthier. “Some people take walks — we sing.”
While noting the choir is a form of relaxation for many in the department, she says the choir does require a lot of effort.
“Ed, our conductor, grinds us until we have the music down pat,” she says. Other government departments, such as Parks Canada, and Indian Affairs and Northern Development, also have choirs. But Gauthier says these choirs are smaller and they don’t perform publicly.
Gauthier also says the choir has a philanthropic bent. This year, net proceeds will go to the cancer care facility Maison Froment-Savoie and Operation Go-Home.