About Us

St. Michael’s Presents… is a Registered Charity (No. 842945073 RR 0001) and all donations are tax deductible. Concerts normally take place in St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, 2858 Mill St., Chemainus and are subject to change without notice.

Find us on the map by clicking here

Board of Directors and Volunteers

  • President:  Sue Ryan
  • Vice President: Chuck Thompson
  • Secretary: Brenda Braaten
  • Treasurer: Vacant

Directors at Large:

  • Eleanor Montour (Tickets)
  • Marion Priestley (Promotions)
  • Ann Mendenhall

Artistic Co-Directors:

  • Rykie Avenant
  • Catharina de Beer

Volunteers:

  • Tickets – Eleanor Montour, Ann Yelland
  • Church Set-Up – Gloria Fraser, Rykie Avenant, Ann Hyggen
  • Programs – Brenda Braaten
  • Handbills & Posters – Catharina de Beer, Rykie Avenant
  • Poster Distribution – Brenda Braaten, Marion Priestley
  • Reception – Ann Hyggen, Gloria Fraser, Ann Mendenhall, Chuck Thompson
  • Artists’ Bouquets: Generously sponsored by Bloooms at the 49th
  • Flowers – Morna Rockingham
  • Photographs – Rykie Avenant
  • Social media – Rykie Avenant
  • Piano – Gloria Fraser, Christine Dandy
  • Website – Catharina de Beer
  • Church Liaison – Hilary Findlay
  • Artist Snacks –
  • Archives – Ann Mendenhall
  • Membership – Ann Mendenhall

History

In 2005, St. Michael’s Presents…Society was established as a registered charity to present concerts in St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, Chemainus, by its then musical directors, Rachel Perkyns and Dwight Siemens. They had a vision of a concert series that would bring music lovers in the Chemainus area and talented musical artists to this delightful venue. They recruited volunteers, gave early concerts themselves, and started enlisting musicians.

The piano that was available was fine for church use in conjunction with the organ, but was not adequate for the demands of these performers, so fundraising was begun to acquire a new Yamaha C1 grand piano.  To quote Rachel, “Dwight and I did not start the concert series to pay for the piano. We started it as a means of providing opportunities to established and up-and-coming performers alike, and realized we would not get the calibre of artist we wanted unless we had a great instrument for their use.”  The piano they found was indeed great — every pianist using it has praised it. For the first 5 years of the concert series, a portion of each concert’s ticket sales went towards payments for the piano. The final payment was made in June 2010.