Do you know him? Of course you've seen the movie, haven't you? It's about this guy who seems to be ordinary enough. There's nothing extravagant about him. On the contrary, he's rather simple. He wears glasses that make him look like a nerd, as they say.Within him lives a superhero, someone who can do the impossible. And when you see him go by, you can't help but marvel.

That's the way I see Gregory Charles. Does that surprise you? And yet I'm not the first one to compare him to SPIDERMAN; in fact, Rock & Belles Oreilles did before me, on the Bye Bye 2006 show. Do you remember that?

I'll recall the sketch for you. One of the members of RBO was sitting at the piano, made up and dressed as Gregory Charles, complete with dark skin coloring. He really did look like him. The false Gregory started playing and suddenly, one of his hands rose into the air and started writing on a piece of paper while he kept on playing piano with his other two hands. He could sing, play the piano, write a song, answer the telephone, open a door... A hilarious sketch! The false eight-armed Gregory could do everything at the same time.

That's the portrayal of my SPIDERMAN, my Gregory. Excuse me for making him mine like that, but I just can't help it. He's my age and he's of my generation. He grew up at the same time I did and I have followed his career right from his beginnings on the TV show Chambre en ville. Recently, I bought his latest album, I Think of You. Every Saturday, I listen to him on Radio-Canada. One time I even danced and sang with him during his show Noir & Blanc.

I'm one of his fans and I'm not ashamed to say it. I admire him not only for his talent but also for everything he can do. I admire him especially for what he is which comes from what I know about him, or from what I perceive of him.

On the Sunday night talk show Tout le monde en parle, he said in front of more than a million spectators that he was a believer, even worse, that he was Catholic, and even worse than that, that he was a practicing Catholic!

Suddenly, I didn't feel as alone anymore. I could see myself in this Christian, this Catholic, this layperson, with and in the world of today. He doesn't try to impose his ideas, his beliefs or his life-style. He is simply authentic, truly himself, just as he was created, and he tells others about it.

Gregory Charles is a musician, dancer, singer, radio and television show host, and actor. He is also an excellent storyteller. In the first part of his Noir & Blanc show, he tells us a bit about the great Story of the Black people through the short story of his grandfather.

On the radio, he once said that he enjoys touching the hearts of his public. At a Celine Dion show, he saw thousands of men and women crying, laughing, singing and just being happy. That's when he discovered the power of song, no matter how pop it is.

Maybe it's at that time that Gregory opened a door to popular music in his life. He needed a break, a time to reflect, a time to doubt about himself, others and his career. Maybe he needed to be afraid... afraid to lose the most precious things he had.Without this break, how would he ever have been able to write? His accident gave him the opportunity to write songs and to touch hearts with his I Think of You album. A fortunate accident! A lucky fall!

CHORAL MISSION

Gregory was also the founder of Mondial Choral. In fact, he has been directing choirs since 1985, as if he had fallen into it when he was little: I grew up constantly being told that the beautiful gives birth to the good and the good gives birth to the beautiful, and that, in the case of music, the pursuit of beauty is always worthwhile. So when I was asked to direct choirs, I just couldn't refuse!

For his rehearsals with the Petits chanteurs de Laval (Laval Boys Choir), Gregory used the chapel of the MIC Sisters. He has known the MICs, as he calls them, for quite some time. He even says that he's a MICO himself!

A few years ago, the Petits chanteurs de Laval went to Hong Kong in China. There, they met the choir from the Good Hope School run by the MIC Sisters. Later, they went to Japan and met the choristers from the Koriyama School. During their centennial celebrations the MIC Sisters of Canada welcomed the Good Hope Choir; this was a unique opportunity for the choristers to also participate in the Quebec Summer Festival.

The MIC sisters have always wondered if the meeting of the two choirs was what inspired Gregory to come up with the idea of Mondial Choral. Directing choirs gave me the chance of meeting other cultural choirs including the ones of Hong Kong, China. It also gave me the opportunity to see the MIC sisters at work in their very large Good Hope School, and to get to know their choir at different levels! Of course being in touch with international choirs gave me the desire to organize even bigger get-togethers. For several years, I travelled but then there was a call to create something that would allow all these choirs to visit each other and share their love for singing. I think it was inevitable..., like the natural pursuit of a mission!

I think Gregory is a missionary. What would a super-hero be without a mission? When he was asked if choral singing, for example, was a vehicle for expressing his faith and convictions, he carefully replied: I don't know. It's not a vehicle for convictions. That's not the goal of these big get togethers. For me, choral singing is a wonderful musical demonstration because it's community work. In choral singing there are values that are expressed voluntarily and also in an almost unconscious or subconscious way.

Do you mean that each person who makes up the group of singers is not really aware of what the group can ultimately give?

Yes. In choral singing, you have to be more than one to have a choir.

CHORAL SINGING
SUSPENSION OF UNHAPPINESS

The choir is based on the will to form a group, to be led by one person and to never really hear the result. There is something like being a missionary in choral singing... in a way. People are called to participate in a group, according to their talents and abilities without hearing the final result.

A little like missionaries who go into the field and give everything they can but often don't see the reward of their efforts?
That's it! In choral singing, like in mission work, individuals are called to be people who aren't specifically applauded or congratulated for the work they do.

Like community work then?
Yes, because that's really what is demanded in choral singing. There's something extremely generous about it, because the choristers aren't professionals. They're all amateurs and so they decide to put their hands to the wheel to share their talents so that others can freely hear the outcome. Essentially those are the values I hold on to.

What makes you love choral singing so much?
There's something about it that makes it impossible to sing and be unhappy. There must be a suspension of unhappiness or sadness when you're singing. It's like when you speak to people who are preparing something very special, an event of any kind, a gift; you're moved, you have trouble speaking, because you're so touched. Choral singing demands that you forget about your troubles. Singing, talking, breathing, all these are directly connected to the emotions!

Giving of oneself without expecting anything in return. Working without MIC Chapel, Laval counting, by the sweat of one's brow. Having great hopes but no expectations. This is Gregory's mission. Ultimately, I'm not sure that SPIDERMAN could do as much!