WHO IS ALEX FIDDES?

If you are a singer with My Pop Choir, then you will have come to know at least one director, perhaps more. But you may not have encountered MPC owner, Alex Fiddes. We thought that it was time that you did!

First a bit of background: Alex graduated from the music theatre program at Sheridan College in 2009. He has engaged in acting, including theatre, film and voice, music directing, sound engineering, composing, and has played in various bands.

The questions below are framed in order to discover what else we thought you might like to know. If we missed anything, let us know in the comments!

Q: What drew you to My Pop Choir in the first place?

Alex:  If I'm being honest, I was in between gigs with my acting career and thought this would be a quick way to make money. It wasn’t a career path that I was planning on pursuing. It began as a temporary side project because at the time my ambitions were elsewhere. But at the end of the very first session, I was surprised at how much I was anticipating falling in love with this job. After that first session, I thought that this path in life could prove to be more meaningful than acting.

Q: What kept you with MPC for the next few years?

Alex: Jackie [Jackie Curtis, founder of MPC] was a really good boss. She was the kind of boss that makes you feel important in your role. She put her heart and soul into the choir and she was front and centre the whole time. And my role was increasing. After a year or two I became the arranger, built up more choirs and five years later I took over My Pop Choir. I have now been owner longer than I wasn’t. It just kept making sense.

Q: How has MPC changed over the years?

Alex: The choirs have improved dramatically. We have a really great team of directors.  We have our model, our process, and we do our own arrangements. They are different than traditional arrangements, with a range and flexibility and style that suits My Pop Choir really well. We are a really well-oiled machine. We can now learn much more complex material. And we are still the right choir for singers who are brand new and for singers who are up to semi-professional.

Q: What have been the choir highs and lows for you over the years?

Alex: OK – highs. At the end of every session, I get a “choir high” – it’s just as prominent as what the singers experience. I really do get so much out of this. With my life busier, with two small children, there’s a little bit of pressure as to whether I even have time to direct a single choir. But I feel even now more than ever that I love directing. There’s a satisfaction and fulfillment and a clear purpose when I’m directing a choir. I feel rejuvenated. And I can bring that energy to my family, so it’s all the more important now.

And, of course, taking over the company was a big high – it was very exciting, and a stress-free transfer of ownership.

The Big Sing in 2024 was probably a top five, strongest memory of all time.

The major low – I am really hard on myself and I strive to be as good as I can be, although that’s a losing battle, a forever battle. In the early years, I would finish sessions that I am sure other people thought were lovely and I would beat myself up. I would be in a bad mood for days. If you are striving to be great that’s good, but there needs to be a balance and also your reflections on how you did should be accurate. It’s important to not swim in it, but to address it and move on. It took me many, many years to develop those skills.

Q: What led you to take over in 2019?

Alex: Jackie and I had discussions beginning in 2017, two years of chatting about it. I thought it was a fabulous opportunity. As I said, I knew from the first session that this was what I wanted to invest my life in and to have that opportunity to be 'head honcho' was a dream come true. It was a slow process but very clear, and no hesitation about it. I was thrilled to take on the role.

Q: What were the initial challenges?

Alex: Bookkeeping! Definitely not my strong suit, I'd rather have my boots on the ground running!

Q: How did Covid affect your initial operation of MPC?

Alex: It was terrible timing because we took over an organization [in 2019] that could not operate in its normal state during the pandemic. As soon as we took over, we had to completely change our model of operation.

This was our livelihood, so there was certainly a lot of stress and pressure to pull off something that was still a good experience, in a world that was very confusing and unknown.

Kelly and I had just enough of the right kind of tech skills to pull off a unique virtual choir operation.

Q: What are the main challenges now?

Alex: In the last three to four years, as soon as Covid passed and choir opened up again, it grew at an aggressive pace, despite growth not actually being my primary focus . With the increased work load, I was working an astounding amount of hours in order for the choir to function, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. It was all-consuming and very difficult. It was really exciting, but often frustrating how unbalanced my life was. Now I can breathe, as the team [Bettina Goodwin, Production Manager and  Naomi Uy, Business and Planning Advisor and the stellar management and director teams] has removed the weight from me. It’s a wonderful balance right now.

Q: When did you decide to make the Big Sing as grand as it became?

Alex: My plan was always to do regular interval Big Sing concerts. The scale depends on how many singers are part of the community. We first started planning in 2022 and at that time we wouldn’t have known the full scale because the choir was so much smaller then. It was a complete learning curve as the size of our choirs was growing rapidly.

Q: What was your reaction to the Big Sing 2024?

Alex: I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful, magical, fulfilling experience.

Q: Are you ready to announce the next Big Sing?

Alex: The next Big Sing will be in spring 2028.

Q:  Are there new choirs coming soon?

Alex: In the 2026 spring session, Kent is starting a new choir in B.C. with a new director. And, also in the spring, Jenn is starting an Oakville daytime choir with a new director as well.

Q: How do new choirs come into being?

Alex: I don’t put effort into growing My Pop Choir. That’s not been my focus. In all cases, the choirs have been growing due to directors approaching me and expressing interest in starting their own new groups. My focus has been on the qualitative experience of choir members and still is to this day, but when opporunity knocks I'd be a fool to turn it down!

Q: As owner, what do you get out of MPC?

Alex: It’s fun! I think I am well-suited for this. There is a natural mental load that comes with being the owner, but I don’t feel that pressure very actively or aggressively. All you can do is take everything one step at a time. That’s a general attitude I have. And it’s exciting – to pick new songs and present them, to hear the arrangements for the first time and then to hear them in person. Then there are all the lessons learned along the way. I do love learning and growing and adapting. I absolutely love doing this and I can’t wait to be doing it forever!

Q: What do you hope the singers get out of MPC going forward?

Alex: I hope choir members experience the same choir high that I do. I hope they find a community. I hope they feel invited when they arrive and are new. I hope they enter an inviting environment, and I hope that their often long-lost musical self gets rebirthed. I hope they get a satisfying, musically creative experience, while building friendships and having a good time.

Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Alex: I see myself in a fairly similar position as I am now, with some more choirs, making things even better, one step at a time.  I don’t want to be specific about what’s down the road in ten years, because I don’t know what I don’t know yet! I want to be open-minded.