Maurice Singfield

In 1968, I formed the band Oliver Klaus along with my brother Bryan. I always had an interest in music and started writing songs when I was 16. In 1972 I was one of the winners of the Hear Canada Singing competition and received an award from the Canada Council for the Arts, for a song I had written called Eastern Townships Land. Later, in 1982 I received an award from the Governor General of Canada for another song entitled You’ve Got a Land.

I have played in the Townships, Montreal, Quebec, the Maritimes, some parts of the States and Ontario over the years and have made my home in Waterloo, Quebec where I have family, a business (piano tuning and repairs) and friends.

I can remember the days when trying to make it big in the music business was the biggest thing in my life. Bryan and I made great contacts in Montreal and Toronto, but finally returned to the Townships to settle into a quieter lifestyle. We had the pleasure of working with: Donald Tarlton / DKD, April Wine, Mashmakan, The Rabble, Ian Tyson, Stompin’ Tom, Pierre Gravel (international talent agent out of Granby, Qc) and studio owner André Perry from Montreal (John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance).

Oliver Klaus is still able to keep its fans happy with a repertoire, of originals and favourites, that spans a 46 year career, having released its first album independently back in 1970; something rock historians claim to be a first.

I spend a lot of my time working on the STOP! TV project, a non-profit community-TV group that produces the STOP! show for Videotron's community TV cable network in conjunction with TVCW (Télévision Communautaire de Waterloo) in the Townships. The organization promotes musicians and local venues throughout the area.

Another passion of mine is writing for The Record, an English daily newspaper in Sherbrooke, Quebec.