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Jun 13, 2006

"When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest." --Henry David Thoreau

Montreal Homeless Choir

The 22 men in spangled baseballs caps don't much look like a choir. They don't stand up straight, they tend to wobble back and forth as they perform, and they're homeless! With a hastily prepared repertoire of four Christmas carols, this ragtag collection of 19-to-68 year old homeless choristers took their voices to the streets -- or under them: their debut was December 17, 1996, at the Berri-UQAM subway station in downtown Montreal, now the choir's unofficial home concert hall. Today, the 'Montreal Homeless Choir' has captivated audiences worldwide and turned their lives around. And what do they feel is the greatest benefit of belonging to the group? The opportunity to give. How exactly such an unlikely group became the toast of Montreal, Toronto, Paris and New York, is in large part due to one person: Pierre Anthian, a dental technician who had been serving the disadvantaged since age 12.