Formed in 1966, the group has a mandate to preserve the traditional settler music and folklore of the
Canadian Maritimes and particularly the Cape Breton region. As of 2006, only one member had been with the group since its inception, Jim MacLellan who is retiring at the end of 2025. Other original members had returned after brief times out of the group but only for special occasions. In this category are both a mine manager and a former president of District 26 of the
United Mine Workers of America. From the group's inception until his retirement in 2017, the musical director was John C. (Jack) O'Donnell,
Professor Emeritus of
music at
St. Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 1983, O'Donnell's contribution was recognized by the government of Canada, as he was awarded the
Order of Canada. In 1993, he was further honoured when he received an honorary
Doctor of Letters from the University College of Cape Breton (now
Cape Breton University), an honour that was bestowed upon the group as a whole in 2000. O'Donnell died October 25, 2018, age 83. In January 2017, Jack passed on the conducting and arranging duties to his then-assistant conductor, Stephen Muise. Stephen had been a long-time fan and maintained a close presence with the choir. His father, Yogi Muise, was the Business Manager for the choir. Prior to taking over his role, Stephen provided technical expertise to the group, learning under his mentor, Jack. Stephen holds degrees in both music and education with a Masters in Education Administration. In December of 2022, Stephen was awarded the Canadian Ban Association Community Builders award, a national honour for his community work. He was also awarded “a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from Cape Breton University and the prestigious Stomping’ Tom Connors award from the East Coast Music Association.” In 1977, the group became the first Canadian musical ensemble to tour the
People's Republic of China. In 1999, they went to
Kosovo and performed a concert on behalf of the
United Nations Children's Fund. ==Performances==