Heritage Singers Canada

The Heritage Singers Canada was founded by Grace Carter-Henry Lyons in January 1977. As Founder, President, and Musical Director, Carter-Henry Lyons brought her folk music experience with the Jamaica Folk Singers from her native Jamaica to Canada to form the Heritage Singers, which began with annual get togethers in her native Jamaica to do Christmas get togethers with friends and family and in continuing that in Canada, it included Folk Songs in her living room to ward off the wintry blues of being in a new country. The 30-member group is a blend of the Caribbean, African and Canadian mosaic, drawing its members from Toronto, Trinidad and Tobago, Pakistan, Guyana, the Congo, and Jamaica. Their inaugural performance at the Harbourfront Centre in 1977 include a repertoire of songs from the sacred to secular, work song to lullaby, ditty to ballad. The language of these songs ranges from Standard Jamaican Creole (Patwa/patois) to French patois and includes Spanish and African dialects.

The group’s mission is to promote the development of Caribbean folk music and theatre to the greater Canadian community, to donate part of the proceeds from fund-raising events to charitable organizations, to use folk-singing and dance as tools to enhance ethnic, historic, and social traditions relevant to the Caribbean, African, and other communities, and to bridge cultural gaps by helping other ethnic groups develop an awareness of and respect for cultures other than their own.
The Heritage Singers Canada also participated in International folk festivals such as the International Folk Fest in Montreal; the Sivo Folkloristic Festival in Odoorn, Netherlands; Taiwan in October 1998; Germany in July 2002 Zacatecas, Mexico 2001; the United States and Venezuela. A performance in Saskatchewan at a folk festival resulted in a documentary produced by CBC. Noteworthy is the role the late Honourable Louise Bennett- Coverley, played in inspiring and mentoring the Heritage Singers Canada. A beloved poet and performer in Jamaica and Diaspora, Miss Lou, as she is known, instilled pride in Jamaicans in the Patois/Patwa and African heritage. She was integral to writing many of the songs in the group's repertoire and the group performed with her on several occasions. She was their matron for previous productions and the Jamaica Pantomime that was presented in 1997, 1998, and 2000.
Notably, the Heritage Singers received little government support in the form of a small grant, and have otherwise, self-funded and self-produced their performances for nearly 50 years. Carter-Henry-Lyons created some arrangements for the songs, created content along with group members for the plays; choreographed some movements and dance; and costumes were designed by various members over the years.
The community–building ethos is evident in the educational programs on Jamaican and Caribbean history offered to schools during Black History Month and through charitable donations. Since its inception, the Heritage Singers Canada have made charitable contributions from the proceeds of their live performances and in-kind donations to organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, Daily Food Bank, Jane-Finch Concerned Citizens Association, Jamaican Canadian Association, Sick Kids Hospital, and The United Way Conference - Harbourfront, Barbados House. They have performed in psychiatric wards, the Veterans wing of Sunnybrook Hospital, nursing homes, libraries, community festivals and several churches, including St. Clair Avenue Baptist, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Pickering Pentecostal, All Nations Full Gospel Church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Lansing United Church, Anglican Church of the Nativity, and St. Michael & All Angels Anglican churches.
As active members of the Black community in Ontario, they have performed at Black Canadian history events, Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Dresden Ontario, Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, a Bob Marley remembrance celebration at Nathan Philips Square, several churches, and many other local community performances. Various VHS tapes, photographs, cassettes and programs show the Heritage Singers as cultural ambassadors for Canada representing Jamaican, Caribbean, African and Black Canadian cultures at folk festivals around the world.
Traversing the line between amateur theatre and professional musical production, the Heritage Singers, were and continue to be recognized by numerous levels of government; by local Black newspapers Share, Pride, & Caribbean Camera which show the coverage they received; and by the awards such as Black History Awards from Mayor Rob Ford February 2014, Canadian Friends- St. Thomas Healthcare Organization (JA) the 17th day of April 2011, CMEA Community Spirit Award-2017, Police & Community Award of Excellence presented February 23, 2014, The Pantomime Company of Jamaica February 23,2002,Black History Community Award February 23, 2014 Kathleen Wynne Premier of Ontario given to them including an Afroglobal Television Excellence Award for Heritage awarded to Carter-Henry Lyons in 2022. Furthermore, numerous awards and recognitions by then Minister of Parliament Jean Augustine, amongst others, attest to the importance of this group in bringing to life Jamaican and Black Caribbean heritage to these communities and beyond.

The Heritage Singers Canada Fonds include audiovisual materials include cassette tapes of early performances in from the 1980s to 2000s, radio interviews, demos and rehearsals; VHS tape recordings of performances from 1980s to 2004 including tours to Venezuela, New York, and anniversary tapes. Many of their performances included dinner theatres, churches and international folk festivals. There are recordings that include Louise “Miss Lou,” former Artistic Director Maude Fuller, and Joyce Britton Bachelor of Music Trinity College of Music-voice trainer and The Juilliard School of Music Professor, and the CBC documentary mentioned above. As well, documentary records include brochures, programs, organizational papers, a portfolio, newspaper clippings from several Black Caribbean newspapers in Toronto, and award certificates from various levels of government.

While many Canadians know about Jamaican culture through reggae, dancehall and culinary traditions, the importance of these fonds lies in the documentation of a longer, rich culture out of which these new forms grew. The audiovisual material further preserves the language - both Jamaican English and Jamaican Patois/Patwa as interpreted in plays and songs by Jamaican Canadians, thus bearing the linguistic and other cultural changes and inflections that come with migration.

2025-07-24. A. St.Onge working from a biographical sketch and administrative history created by Grace Lyons with Debbie Ebanks Schlums in 2023-2024.(Creation)

• English

• Latin

Debbie Ebanks Schlums.
Grace Lyons