Nelisha Vellani photo Choir director Archie Smith

As he walks past the 40 choir members wearing black tuxedos, he smiles at the audience sitting in the church before quickly turning his back to them.

Wearing his black tuxedo, Archie Smith takes his round eyeglasses out of his jacket pocket to read the first piece of music chosen for his choir to sing at the concert hosted by the Carleton Memorial United Church. He then steps onto the dull brown stool with his shiny black shoes, and cues the pianist.

Waving his hands four times to signify that the song is about to begin, Smith cues the choir members and they begin singing the first song, Adoration by Beethoven.

Smith shows his passion for directing the members of the Ottawa Carleton Male Choir by making grand gestures throughout the melodies, and lip-syncing to all 15 songs performed.

In between each song, the audience claps and Smith turns around to bow and smile.

“I’m trying to get them to smile,” Smith says to the audience jokingly, after the ninth performance, referring to the choir standing behind him. “Maybe if you smile, they will smile back at you.”

During the last song, Go Tell it on the Mountain, the audience starts clapping with each beat. The song is now complete, and the audience gives Smith and the choir a standing ovation.

Archie Smith shows his passion for directing the choir when he is on stage by waving his hands and moving his body to the music, but this 72-year-old man does not always act vibrant and energetic. He is driven to succeed as a director, but at the end of the day, he is just an ordinary man who enjoys spending time with his family.

For over 25 years, Smith has been directing choirs both in Canada and the United States. But his reign will soon be over. Smith is retiring from his position as director this coming spring, and the choir will have to make do without him.

He discovered his love for music when he was 14 years old, playing the baritone and trombone. According to Smith, joining the Salvation Army band, years later, is “where it all started.”

After directing many choirs, such as the Ottawa Valley Male Choir for two years, and the Osgoode Township Male Choir for 15 years after that, Smith then decided to begin directing the Ottawa Carleton Male Choir when it was formed in 1997. And in May 2007, after ten years of passionate directing, Smith has decided to retire from his role in the choir.

“I’m enthusiastic and disciplined,” said Smith, “but I’ve had enough.” Smith said that he feels it is about time that he retires from the choir, and will not reconsider his decision.

“I will always be there to help them out if needed, but my duties will officially end in May of next year,” said Smith.

Directing the Ottawa Carleton Male Choir is a voluntary position for Smith. He said that he has never accepted any money for directing any choir because he is not a “professional.” His responsibilities include choosing music for the choir to sing, and teaching the members how to sing the selection.

He started just like everyone else.

Born on August 17, 1934, Ottawa has been his home for the majority of his life. He attended Fisher Park High School located in Ottawa, but his one regret is not studying music and making a full-time career out of it.

Instead, Smith worked for Sears in visual merchandising, and owned a business, manufacturing draperies while directing the choirs. He officially retired 10 years ago from his working career.

Despite the fact that Smith did not study music in school, many feel that his quality of direction is no less than professional.

Henk Huizenga, coordinator of the Ottawa Carleton Male Choir, said that it is the passion Smith has for music that drives him to be successful.

“He gets real sound out of a person,” said Huizenga. “He just lets you sing.”

Huizenga, 61, chose Smith as the director for the OCMC after being a member of the Osgoode Township Male Choir for 15 years under Smith’s direction. He said that Smith’s dedication is shown through his excitement for rehearsals, concerts, and the music itself.

Attendance at rehearsals is also something Smith cares about.

“Archie becomes upset if people don’t show up for practice,” said Huizenga. “Sometimes, he gets too excited.” Huizenga said that he would like to see the same passion and dedication in their future director.

There are those, like Diane Rabatich, former secretary of the OCMC, who also agree with Huizenga, saying that the choir has a “great European sound,” which is created by Smith’s devotion to preserving the choir’s traditional style.

“Archie works so hard, and practices them very hard too,” said Rabatich. “I think this choir is better than professional choirs.”

Rabatich, 60, also said that Smith “donates his time out of the goodness of his heart,” which not many people are ready to do.

One month before the concert, Smith gets ready for the weekly rehearsal.

Clapping his hands to get the choir members’ attention, Smith is ready to begin the choir rehearsal. Preparing a selection that the members will sing in the upcoming concerts, Smith reviews the keys with the pianist and cues the group of men.

When the pianist begins playing and the choir members start singing, Lord, Listen to Your Children by Ken Medema, Smith sways his hands from left to right. When the song is complete, Smith is not satisfied. He wants the notes to be perfect, so he asks the choir to repeat the song.

“Don’t over sing,” he tells the choir members, his voice carrying across the room. “One more time and we’ll get it.”

During the short breaks between the songs, members voice their questions and concerns about the music. Smith lightens the mood by joking with them, often telling them to “loosen up.” However, when the next song, Let it Snow by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne starts, he gets back into character. Smith enunciates every word of the song and points to the members so they know their cue to begin singing.

The choir’s concert convener, Cor Hogeveen, said it is Smith’s “love for music” that makes him passionate.

“Every conductor is different,” said Hogeveen. “It will be difficult to find someone to step in his shoes because Archie has a good understanding of a male choir as opposed to the North American showbiz or Barbie doll sound.”

Hogeveen, 68, who has known Smith since 1989, said that many of the members in this choir were members of the Osgoode Township Male Choir, and then transferred when the OCMC was created.

Directing choirs is not Smith’s only talent. He also used to sing, but doesn’t anymore.

“I don’t enjoy it,” said Smith. “Once it becomes an effort, you don’t do it.”

Smith does, however, enjoy spending time with his family. He met his wife of 46 years, Ruth, at a ball game at Kent Public School in Ottawa when he was 20 years old. They have four grown children; Robin, Randy, Kairn, and Derek, and nine grandchildren.

With his passion for music, Smith influenced his children to join the Salvation Army band when they were very young.

“I was about 10 years old when I joined the band,” said his daughter, Kairn Verhey. “I did it more for socializing. I am definitely not the musical one in the family.”

Verhey, 41, also said that she has never seen someone so honest about everything he does.

“If he is selling something to someone, he will make sure to outline all the bad things first, so he is not cheating them,” she said. “We told him he could never be a salesman.”

Verhey does not believe that Smith will retire from the choir next year.

“He was supposed to retire a while ago,” she said. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Her brother, Derek Smith agreed, saying that his father’s “good leadership” has made him a successful director.

Joining the Salvation Army band when he was six years old, Derek, 37, said that his father was “pretty easy-going” and did not influence his children into listening to choral music.

“As long as you were playing the music,” said Derek, “it didn’t matter.”

But now, Derek feels that it is time for his father to relax, saying that Smith’s retirement is “long overdue.”

Smith is not only passionate about his family, but is also driven by his fondness for music. In May 2006, Smith was presented with the Arts and Culture award by the city of Ottawa for his involvement with the choir, and the money that the choir has raised for different local charities.

Smith was not there to accept the award, but said that it was a nice thing to receive.

John Hulbert, first tenor in the choir, said that the director has always held high standards for the choir.

“He knows where he’s going with the music,” said Hulbert. “He knows how to get the best results.”

Hulbert, 76, said that he hopes Smith will reconsider retiring from his position because he has a “very good rapport with the choir” and will be “hard to replace.”

The OCMC has been practicing at the Calvin Christian Reformed Church every Wednesday for the last nine years. Smith said that although the church does not charge them for the time or space, the choir participates in about three services a year as a token of their appreciation.

Singing in six different languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian, Smith said that the choir focuses on many different styles, such as secular, classical, and spiritual songs. He noted that any man is welcome to join the choir.

“They must come to the rehearsals and actively participate in the songs,” said Smith. “If they fit in, they stay. If not, they go.”

Smith continued by saying that there have only been two cases where he had to ask the men to leave, as they did not “fit in” talent-wise with the choir.

Those who stay with the choir participate in concert tours. In 2002, Smith along with 35 of his choir members visited Holland to perform their music. Next May, they will be leaving Canada again, but will be going on a European concert tour. They will perform in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Smith will join them in his last days with the choir.

For the last nine years, Smith has been donating his time to the choir, but said that the future director will be getting paid for the job.

The only advice he has for the future director is, “Do not change the style of the choir by making it a glee-club.” He said he does not want to see change from a four-part harmony style to a three-part harmony.

There are also those who do not feel as strongly about Smith’s ability to direct the choir.

Pat Forbes, an audience member at the Nov. 18th concert, said that she feels that Smith lacks the motivation needed for the job.

Forbes, 64, said that the choir members were miscued, and that the choir needs a lot more practice.

“They need to get someone better, newer, and more modern,” said Forbes in regards to a new director. “He had to appeal to us to make them smile. They should already be smiling.”

However, Huizenga said that it is unfortunate that Smith is retiring.

“Archie is strong in words, and strong in actions,” said Huizenga. “We will never have that sound with any other director.”

Smith already knows what he wants to do after retiring next year. He wants more time to travel with his wife.

“I don’t want to travel the world so to speak,” said Smith, “but I would like to visit different parts of Canada, and go to Scotland.”

Smith also wants to continue his personal hobby of collecting, repairing, and selling antique clocks.

“I’m not a clockmaker,” he said, “but I enjoy doing it.”

After the choir announcements are made by Huizenga, regarding the upcoming concerts and tours, Smith tells the choir that he would like to see them practice all the songs one more time.

He is now confident that the pianist knows the right keys, that his choir will sound perfect. Before going to the social room for tea and cookies, Smith commends his choir for a job well done.

“Thank you for a great practice everyone. Goodnight.”