Music has been close to Morley Fleming’s heart for many years, and since moving to Jasper, he’s been sharing the love.

Fleming and his wife Val started the Summit Singers in January of 2003, shortly after moving to town from Edmonton, where Morley had worked for many years as a freelance musician and teacher.

“The idea was to give the staff at the Jasper Park Lodge something to do,” he said. “The lodge provided us with a space, but since everyone who signed up for the choir was from town, we decided to relocate.”

Fleming is the resident musician at the JPL and he plays piano six nights a week at the Moose’s Nook restaurant. It’s a good gig that Morley thoroughly enjoys.

“I love it,” he said with hearty laugh. “I’d hate to have to work for a living. As far as I know, I’m the only full-time resident at one property in all of Alberta.” With his repertoire of more than 12,000 songs, Fleming is comfortable in this work, but his background is actually in choral music.

“My history in choir goes back to university,” he said. “My degree from Western Ontario is in voice, not piano.” Fleming estimates that he was involved in 18 different choral groups during his four years at school, so it was only natural for him to want to start one up when he arrived in Jasper.

The Summit Singers are a non-auditioned, non-denominational group, meaning that you don’t have to know how to read music in order to join, and the choir sings a wide variety of songs.

“We’ve had people hesitate to join because they didn’t want to do religious music,” said Fleming who adds that some of the choir’s repertoire is sacred.

“A lot of the world’s music is sacred music,” he said. “When you look at the history of choral music a lot of the basis for it came from the church.”

Really, the singers are focused on good harmonies and good music.

“The main purpose is not performing,” Morley said. “It exists so that members can come in and have an outlet for their musical talents. Music is such a good source of emotional, intellectual and spiritual release, and a lot of people need that.”

While the choir didn’t have its own concert last year due to fluctuating numbers, there is a good core group of singers this winter, and the Flemings have planned for a May performance, although there is no date set as yet.

“We have a group of about 17 people this year,” said Val. “On any given Sunday we’ll get between ten and up.” The singers practice weekly from September to May and the Fleming’s acknowledge that Sunday afternoon is a popular time for Jasperites to head outdoors or take time away from work or activites.

“Everyone has a very busy schedule in this town,” Morley said. “I work six out of seven days!”

There is ample room for the choir to grow, according to the Flemings.

“I would love there to be a thirty to forty voice choir,” said Morley. “If people do decide to come, hopefully they will want to do that on a regular basis.”

A particular need exists for male voices.

“Isn’t that the cry of every choir,” Val asks, “we need more men.” In fact, whether one sings soprano, alto or basso profundo, there are plenty of spaces for you with the Summit Singers.

Val and Morley note that they have had singers from the ages of 16 to 89, and they joke about the “side benefits” of joining a choir. In fact, it was singing that brought the two together.

“He used to be the conductor at the church choir I sang at in Edmonton,” Val said as Morley organized the scores for the week’s practice. “We were married in Jasper in 2002.”

With a concert coming in less than two months, there is still time for eager choristers to join up.

“It’s not too late,” Morley said. “We have probably half of our members who are strong music readers so they can help the others along.”

Joining the Summit Singers is not like being a part of a church choir, which typically perform each and every week.

“It’s not like you’re coming in to learn something for that Sunday,” Morley said.

Those who do show up to sing in the sunny confines of the Lutheran Church are doing so in a place with a rich musical heritage. Bing Crosby once performed at the church in the days when it hosted Jasper’s Catholic congregation. The current Lutheran pastor, Doug Heine and his wife are members of the choir and offered the space for practices. Morley Fleming is very pleased they did.

“It has very nice acoustics,” he said.

The choir has arrived and is eager to begin, so Fleming bids this interviewer good day and turns to the singers to start the warm up. Like the church they sing in, the 

Summit Singers boast some good acoustic qualities indeed.