Biographies of Peter and Helen Ness

Helen Ness

Helen has studied piano, clarinet, speech arts and voice and at an early age fell in love with the music of the big band era. With her 3 octave range and versatility, Helen is able to truly capture the era and essence of each song she sings whether it is a jazz standard, a hit Broadway showstopper or a well-loved operetta aria. Helen has sung in choirs all her life and currently sings soprano in The Choralairs of North York Choir.

And Helen made the dresses she wears in the cover photos. The red Christmas dress is based on the dress Rosemary Clooney wore in the 1954 movie, "White Christmas" while the summer dress is from a vintage 1950s pattern.

Peter Ness

Peter is a classically trained pianist. He is a skilled, experienced piano teacher, conductor, producer, arranger and composer. He teaches classical and jazz piano, plays the double bass and also tutors math.

From 2006 to 2022 he was both conductor and accompanist for The Society of Singers, a four-part 30-voice choir which also performed for seniors. Since 2014 he has also been conductor and now, co-conductor and co-accompanist of The Choralairs of North York, a four-part voice choir which performs a variety of music for seniors in retirement homes and long term care centres. Peter has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and his ARCT in piano from The Royal Conservatory of Music.