Nova Scotia mass choir still changing the world

“Most of us in the Preston area grew up singing as part of our culture,” says the co-president of the Nova Scotia Mass Choir.

“It was an essential way of getting through life, of practising our faith. We sang in Sunday school and in the home.

“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t singing. One of my most vivid memories is one summer picking blueberries and singing in a field with my mother, my aunts, my sisters and brothers. It was hard times, but fun times.”

So when the Nova Scotia Mass Choir was formed in Halifax for the 1992 International Gospel Festival, Fraser was quick to sign up.

“It was a huge deal to know people like Etta James, and the Barrett Sisters — who were personal heroes of mine, mature ladies with a bluesy sound that filled your soul — and Cissy Houston were going to come to Halifax. They were huge names and they were going to come to little old Halifax. It was really exciting and a little unbelievable.”