Scarborough Hospital employees to take centre stage with glee

Nine doctors, nurses and other staffers of the Scarborough Hospital are colleagues-gone-glee clubbers.

The hospital is one of several workplaces in the GTA participating in Global TV’s Canada Sings production, six Glee-inspired live-to-air shows featuring hidden Canadian talent. Canada Sings premieres this spring.

Teams from each workplace will compete against each other to win a yet-to-be announced donation to a charity of their choice.

“They started very nervous but they’re very dedicated to their charity,” said Sharron Matthews, the hospital team’s vocal coach. “They’re extremely hard workers.”

The name of the charity cannot be revealed yet.

The team is not given any musical notes to read during rehearsal. Most of the learning is done through listening to music and lots of practice.

Choreographer Christian Vincent is working with Matthews to prepare the hospital’s team for the challenge. In terms of dancing, he said it has been a “rough road starting.”

“Let’s just say that this group in particular had a little bit more experience singing than dancing,” he said.

Most of the group knows how to carry a tune, but the biggest challenge has been singing and dancing at the same time, Matthews and Vincent agreed.

“We’ve got a lot of natural talent,” Matthews said.

Some team members have had experience singing for charities, choirs and local functions, but none has had professional training.

“The progress they have made has just been inspiring,” Vincent said. “These individuals had problems learning a step and now they’re doing an entire performance effortlessly.”

The team, Vincent added, is a “great representation” of Scarborough.

The hospital has given the group their own room to rehearse in. Matthews said the team printed pictures of her and Vincent and put them at the front of the room for inspiration.

“They have an amazing sense of humour,” she said.

Vincent and Matthews could not say which song the team will be singing, except that “it’s awesome.”

Through the process, the trainers said, the group has become more comfortable with one another and is making time to incorporate practice into their lives despite many other responsibilities.

“I think the people of Scarborough will really enjoy watching their own people overcome the challenge,” Matthews said. “[The group members] really care about their community.”

The Scarborough Hospital community is excited about seeing its own on TV, hospital spokesperson Dave Bourne said.

“We’re thrilled that our hospital’s glee club has the opportunity to showcase their singing talents on national television,” he said. “We wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing their performance later this year.”

All members of the Scarborough Hospital team are from Scarborough.

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By: Yeamrot Taddese
Posted: Mar 3 2011 8:18 am
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Filed under: Arts & Life
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