History of the Watsonairs

The Watsonairs were founded by Kathleen Watson in 1956. They are the longest continuously operating choral group in the province. Watson was a very renowned voice teacher and piano teacher in Prince Albert. She was also the teacher of Jon Vickers, the Opera singer.
 

The Watsonairs had their first concert in the Orpheum Theatre, which is where the CKBI radio station is located now on central on 13th St.  in Prince Albert.  Watson was with the group until 1964 when she retired and replaced as director with one of the choir members, Gladys Strom. Strom led the choir for over 40 years after that. Strom’s last performance was in 2005. The Watsonairs honoured her retirement with a final concert.  May Janzen, member of the choir, then led the group for a number of years until Amy Robinson, who had been an accompanist, took over the reigns two years ago.
 

For a group that has been around for almost 70 years, the Watsonairs have had very few directors. This speaks to the family-style community of the choir and supporting the gifts and talents of the members from within the group. ​​​