About Us
The Burlington Welsh Ladies Chorus (BWLC) was founded in 2017 with nine members and is affiliated with the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus (BWMC) organization.
Since its founding, the main goal of the Chorus is to provide engaging entertainment for the City of Burlington and beyond. The Chorus has performed at various respected venues throughout the area, including performances at the Atrium of the Royal Botanical Gardens, “Culture Days” in Burlington, Choir Fest, Burlington Concerts in the Park, Oakville Performing Arts Centre, and various churches, music venues, and retirement homes.
Retirement and nursing homes present a wonderful opportunity to entertain Burlington residents by demonstrating the power of music therapy. With that in mind, BWLC works with retirement and nursing homes to provide entertainment to their residents. We look forward to continuing this rewarding community engagement.
The BWLC, currently boasting 40+ members, is a self-funded, not-for-profit charitable organization. BWLC is continuously fundraising as we continue to grow in repertoire, reputation and membership, while having a lot of fun along the way.
We practice on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 – 9:30 at St. Matthew on-the-Plains Anglican Church, 126 Plains Road E, Burlington, ON L7T 2C3. Members are encouraged to arrive early so they are ready to start promptly at 7:30 and to allow time for socializing.
Our 2026 season is well underway, so please consider stopping in to check us out!
Mission Statement
“The Burlington Welsh Ladies Chorus is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich musical heritage of Wales while embracing diverse choral traditions. Through passionate performance, artistic excellence, and a commitment to community, we strive to uplift, inspire, and unite audiences. We believe in the power of music to foster connection, celebrate culture, and create harmony—both in song and in spirit.“
Musical Staff
Music Director: Janice Beninger
JANICE BENINGER is delighted to have been working with the Burlington Welsh Ladies Chorus since they were founded in 2017. She had already been directing the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus since 2008 and was in love with the Welsh 'hwyl'—that 'feeling' of deep expression and meaning in traditional Welsh singing.
Janice received her MMus from the University of Western Ontario. She has directed numerous vocal ensembles including community, church, university and school choirs, and has worked at a number of Church Organist/Music Coordinator positions. Her artist/choir collaborations with the Welsh choirs include the Hannaford Silver Band, Margaret Bardos, Shannon Mercer, Burlington Concert Band, Sangerfest Male Choir in Boston, Montreal Welsh Choir, Marion Samuel Stevens, Oakville Children's Choir, John Fanning, Adria McCulloch, Tempus Choral Society, Donna Ellen Trifunovich, North Mountain Chorus, Sarena Paton, John McDermott, Canadian Orpheus Male Chorus, Hamilton Children’s Choir, Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir, Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band, Garnet Rogers, Haydn James, Chorus Niagara Children’s Choir, Loralee McGuirl, Heather Bambrick, Andrew Tees, Hope Schneider, Burlington Teen Tour Band, Bristol Male Voice Choir in England, Bridgend Male Choir in Wales, and Holy Heart of Mary Alumni Choir in Newfoundland.
Currently, along with directing both of the Burlington Welsh choirs, Janice maintains an active piano/theory teaching studio in Dundas, Ontario, JBeningerStudio.
Accompanist: Christopher Hunt
CHRISTOPHER HUNT studied at Queen’s University, and at the University of Reading, England. Since he was a teenager, he has accompanied countless instrumentalists, singers, and choral groups, on the piano and the organ. For three decades, Christopher taught music history, theory and conducting at Mohawk College, and for ten years conducted the Mohawk College Singers. For several summers he enjoyed being a resident pianist at the prestigious language school at Middlebury, Vermont. Now retired from teaching, Christopher plays the organ and directs the choir at First-Pilgrim United Church in Hamilton and serves as National Archivist for the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
Members of Burlington Welsh Ladies Chorus
First Sopranos
Second Sopranos
First Altos
Second Altos
CWTCH
CWTCH, pronounced cutch, is the name for a group of BWLC choristers who have joined together to bring the gift of music to patients in the Palliative Care Unit at Oakville Hospital. Cwtch is Welsh for Cuddles and the letters are an acronym for Caring Women Together 4 Cuddles & Hugs. Joan Dawe, the founder of Cwtch, shared that a news article of a Toronto choir doing something similar truly inspired her, both from a lived and work life experience. Over 40 years ago Joan led a multi-disciplinary committee to create the first Palliative Care Unit east of Montreal at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital in St. John’s NL. She has wonderful memories of the comfort and dignity provided to patients and families. Back to the news article: it gave Joan the idea to try something here. A few phone calls later she had a plan. After an overwhelming response from a group of ladies, her idea has come to fruition! CWTCH is very happy to say they had their first performance at Oakville Hospital on February 24th, 2025. There were well received by staff and patients and were delighted that some of the patients were singing along!
CWTCH was featured on a Global News video about music therapy for hospital patients:
